Bolton and the surrounding area braced itself for thunderstorms which forced one restaurant to close.

A yellow weather warning for thunderstorms was issued for the weekend, with torrential downpours hitting the region on Sunday night.

Toby Carvery in Bolton was forced to close its doors early after the restaurant seemingly flooded due to the storm on Sunday.

But this morning, they announced they had re-opened revealing it was just a small carpeted area which had been affected.

A spokesman said: "Thank you to all of our guests who understood our difficulties today and our apologies for any inconvenience caused.

"All of our team and guests were kept safe today.

"We were able to keep this slip free naturally as it was absorbed by carpet, and we were able to divert any footfall completely away from this with our wonderful team helping us every step of the way.

 "We appreciate all of the support and understanding from our guests and can proudly let everyone know that we are open for business as usual! Hope to see you soon!

This morning walkers found a brook was left discoloured.

United Utilities carried out tests at Harwood Vale at Riding Gate

It was a suspected pollution incident but upon making checks, it was found to simply be clay falling into the water due to the weather.

A picture taken by a member of the public shows the cloudy water with two dogs stood in it.

A flood alert was in place by the UK environment agency for the upper River Irwell including areas Bolton, Little Lever, Radcliffe, Bury, Heywood and Bacup.

 

The Bolton News: Harwood Vale

In nearby Radcliffe, businesses were forced to close because of flash floods, which caused chaos on the roads.

Chaps Barbers, on Water Street, has closed its doors and the owner says it has no idea when it will next re-open after heavy rainstorms caused the road and nearby shops to flood.

Paula Henry, said that blocked drains have been an ongoing issue for the business, and she will now be looking at fixing the damage inside the shop.

She said: “The electrical bins that you brush hair into from the floor are having to be looked at as they are all on ground level, as are the rest of our electrics.

“There is black, filthy dirt all over and our seating area, which is made out of wood, is also going to have to be taken out and scrapped.”

Paula said she has been in talks with the council on several occasions as even during ‘normal’ rain, customers are getting splashed by cars because the drains are blocked.

She said: “It’s now a case of ripping everything out and replacing it but I don’t know if anybody's gonna pay up or how long the business is going to be shut for.”

Radcliffe resident, Gill Smith, warned others of the flooding saying she had “never seen it like this” after a car broke down in the water and rain filled the streets "within minutes" yesterday.

The hair salon, AURA, also on Water Street, informed customers of the flooding yesterday and hoped the business would dry out overnight.