It has been quite the day down Bedwas RFC on the first day of our clean up following the flooding brought by Storm Dennis. Firstly we would like to thank all of the volunteers from the club’s sections, the local community and beyond who mucked in to assist today. It was an incredible team effort. We would also like to thank all of the local businesses who have supported the clean-up, including Miss B’s Pantry, the Chemical Corporation, Tesco, Tsangs Bedwas Fish Bar, Old Brenin Distillery, Ashburne and Biological Preparations. Apologies if we missed any businesses here, it has been so hard to keep a track of all the incredible support we’ve had!

Tomorrow, we will be re-convening to continue the clean-up, starting from 11am. Again, any support down the club would be truly appreciated. Today’s work has made a huge difference to the state of the facilities. As the photos show, we have removed most of the muck/silt from the interior, cleaned behind the bars and thrown out all of our ruined stock, fittings and electronics. It has been really gutting to see some of what we’ve lost in the club.

We’ve assessed some of our losses in the club today and the cost runs into the thousands of pounds. Losses include kitchen equipment in the burger bar, most of our medical equipment, two large washing machines, a sound system, water pump, function & christmas decorations, floor buffer & hoover, damage to flooring/vinyl/carpet, an amplifier, several table tops, photos and frames, glassware, water heater, several freezers and food, a laptop, several draught beer cooling systems, and half a dozen fridges. This is in addition to at least £2,500 of stock. A total that runs easily into five figures before any labour.

We believe that it is important to list these losses as today we launched our fundraising campaign to help us back on our feet. This is because our insurance will not cover losses from flood damage. The initial response to our appeal has been phenomenal and we are so thankful to all who have been so kind and donated so far. We hope that people will continue to support our cause as we look to get back on our feet.

We are due to play Neath RFC on Saturday and we’re doing all we can to get the premises – if only on a very basic level – operational by then. Tomorrow will see more cleaning and removal and we will keep you all updated on progress as we move through the week.

Thank you all for your continued support.

Our fundraising page can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/ral6hk9