7 Brilliantly British Unsung Heroes Of The Whaley Bridge Dam Saga
Her title may have been a bit contentious though, as it appeared to be neck-and-neck result with the Chinese takeaway next door.
But Anne wasn’t having any of that. She said: “Me and the gentleman next door at the Phoenix were the first to open, but of course, he’s got to cook food.”
Anne also said the evacuation had forced her to make a 40-mile round trip to buy milk.
She added: “It’s ridiculous. But the road is open now.”
The first person back in
No one said it was a race – but that didn’t stop people proclaiming victories all over the place.
While Anne nabbed the business title, Liz McCann wasn’t going to let her moment of glory go unnoticed.
She said: “I was the first person across the line.
“We just happened to be there just 10-15 minutes before so we just thought we’d wait to see if we heard any news.
“And we’re home. That’s what we wanted. We’re all safe and we’re all together so there’s not a problem.
“We’d been on holiday for two weeks and we came back to this so we’ve not gone back yet.”
The wine man
Fixing a dam is thirsty work, but thankfully the manager of local Whaley Bridge business Goyt Wines, Malcolm Swets, has got it covered.
Speaking of the job the workers had done on the dam, he said: “They’ve done a fantastic job, they couldn’t have done any better.
“It’s all been done in a professional manner – they are welcome to a drink if they want one.”
Huzza for Malcolm.