A West Sussex pub landlord is likely to need new pub furniture after being hit badly by floods over the Christmas period - but first he needs to know where the contents of his beer garden have been deposited.
The West Sussex Gazette reports that Chris Sinfield, proprietor of the White Hart Stopham Bridge pub, has lost as much as £10,000 in custom, staff expenses and property damage since Christmas Eve.
His cellar was entirely underwater for nearly a week, while a further metre of standing water was seen in parts of his establishment's ground floor over the festive period.
As a result, at one of the busiest and usually most profitable times of year, Mr Sinfield was forced to close, lay off his staff, and cancel any party bookings and other events that were already scheduled.
Speaking to the West Sussex Gazette, he revealed that his beer garden furniture - despite being held down with concrete - was entirely swept away during the floods.
This has led to the curious situation of pub furniture being found in the branches of nearby trees, and has inspired Mr Sinfield to call on the local community to track down the rest.
"Please let us know if you see any of our garden furniture that seems to be scattered along the banks of the Arun - picnic tables in trees illustrates just how high the water got," he said.
"The garden was totally cleared despite many of the items being in concrete."
Mr Sinfield is unlikely to be the only publican facing a need to replace pub furniture damaged by floods, and while the widespread disaster is a costly inconvenience, it could also be turned into a positive opportunity to improve what were tired interiors for some landlords.
New pub furniture can give a consistent look and feel, even if different types of seating are used in combination with one another, and the local pub is likely to continue to be a meeting place for any flood-hit nearby residents while their own homes are undergoing repairs, helping to get businesses back on track and recoup some of those lost Christmas earnings.