STAFF at a flood-stricken supermarket say they faced abuse from customers who were turned away from the closed market town shop on Saturday.
The Ross-on-Wye branch of Morrisons had to close after part of the roof “gave” in and rainwater poured in.
A notice on the door said the store experienced some damage due to the weather and would not open until further notice, although it was back open on Sunday.
“We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and we are working hard to get this resolved as soon as possible,” it said.
A staff member said on Saturday the shop would have to remain closed until it was safe for customers to return, but added the videos shared on social media made it look “worse than it is”.
“We have also faced abuse from some customers when we inform them the shop is closed,” they said.
Several customers were seen heading to the supermarket to do their shopping but were politely turned away.
Despite the store’s closure, the petrol station stayed open and the car park was well-used.
A town resident said “it shows how much the car park is used by people who are not shopping at Morrisons”.
Elsewhere in the town, Brookend Street was partially closed while Welsh Water undertakes remedial work.
The street is closed from the junction with Station Street until the access to Aldi. Access to the supermarket’s car park remains open.
Herefordshire Council’s roads and regulatory services cabinet member Barry Durkin (Con, Old Gore) was in Brookend Street overseeing the remedial work on Saturday.
He said the resurfacing that had previously been planned for the street would have to be pushed back.
Cllr Durking also said exploratory work of the drains would be undertaken to find out if there is an issue with them.
Longer term works will be needed to avoid this recurring problem, if a problem is found.
In May, Ross-on-Wye was hit with torrential rain which flooded Brookend Street and caused severe damage to Broad Street.
Despite the severe downpour at the weekend, most of the town remained open for business.