A NAUTICAL-THEMED restaurant has been forced to close over the Christmas period because of flooding.
Port-Side Bistro was expected to have been packed every night over the Christmas season.
However, a faulty water pipe in the wall has been blamed for causing the flood.
Owner Mark Duckett, 49, said he was hopeful the restaurant would be back open in time for the new year.
He said: "We're going to have to knuckle down and get on with it.
"Worse things happen at sea.
"We were fully booked up to new year, right the way up, even Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays.
"It's one of those things."
The bistro will be out of action for at least three weeks but he is hopeful they will be able to open their doors again by New Year's Eve.
Mr Duckett said: "It must have been leaking for months and it's reared its ugly head now."
The flood has caused severe water damage, meaning the floor and parts of the bar will have to be ripped out.
Set up by Mr Duckett and his wife Tracey last December, the flooding has come as a severe blow after such a successful start.
Mr Duckett said: "Over the past few months, we've been doing really well.
"The Christmas period is the big one, it carries you through to March."
Now, the couple will be forced to return all of the parties' booking deposits, which they had luckily kept in a separate account.
Turning away customers will have a huge knock-on effect for the business next year.
The cost is being calculated but they will need to reverse the damage and refurbish the restaurant, so Mr Duckett isn't optimistic.
He said: "We don't know yet but it's not going to come cheap.
"We still don't know the full extent of the damage."
The couple were planning to close up in January and get away while the business was quiet, but will now need to open to recover from the loss.
Mr Duckett is a keen sailor with his own boat on the docks.
He even used to live on the boat but is back on land now, living in east Hull.
The bistro in Princes Dock Street has been popular since its start up, thanks to the couple's dedication.
Mr Duckett said: "It's been the hardest 12 months of my life.
"It's like snakes and ladders, we'd just got up to 99, now we're back down to one."
However, he remains positive customers will come rushing back when it reopens.
He said: "It's going to be like starting all over again but at least we'll have a good client base."
"I'd just like to say sorry to all the people who booked and I hope they come back in the new year."
