Kirkstall Bridge Inn: Flood defences hold up at beer garden of popular Leeds pub during Storm Babet

The outdoor seating area at the Kirkstall Bridge Inn, in Bridge Road, was almost completely submerged on Friday (October 20) as weather caused chaos across the city.

A video uploaded to X [formerly Twitter] showed the garden, which sits directly next to the River Aire, in inches of water after the neighbouring watercourse burst its banks.

However, it has now been confirmed by pub bosses that recently installed flood defences were effective. In a post on X, the pub said: “Babet's nowt. Our new wall and flood defence gates (floodgates - not just a metaphor!) were more than up to the task of protecting [the pub].

"A veritable fortress. A citadel. Probably zombie proof.”

It came as the city was hit by a deluge of incidents brought on by Storm Babet. They included a plane skidding off the runway while landing at Leeds Bradford Airport on October 20.

People in the city will have seen the Kirkstall Bridge Inn’s beer garden in similar conditions in previous years, as it was not the first time it flooded. In February 2022, benches were immersed in river water following similar wet weather when the pub was also not affected and remained open.