Flask Inn Fylingdales reopens to public after devastating moor fires

The pub on the Whitby to Scarborough road was taken over by John Saville, his wife Nicola and their twins Max and Phoebe earlier this year – but when the started, they couldn’t have envisaged the blaze which started on August 11 and led to the road closure or campsites being evicted.

A post on the Flask Inn Fylingdales’ Facebook page read: “After a crazy week we can’t wait to see all you guys again.

"Only five months of trading, we thought we were finding our feet, safe to say we were not prepared for wild fires, evacuations, closing our doors to many, cancelling accommodation, darts, fishing trips and music gigs.

“So much appreciation and respect to the farmers, game keepers, volunteers, young farmers, contractors, fire service and everyone else in between.

“Thank you to our neighbours who came into The Flask this past week - I think we all needed each other.

“But now it’s time to dust ourselves off (literally) and crack on!”

Mr Saville added: “The hardest thing has been the smoke for days on end and had to cancel rooms, give people their money back and of course the caravan sites being evicted so no customers, and not being able to get out.

"It was shocking really but things are looking up now the road is back open and I hope the caravan sites fill up as it’s our main customer base.”

He wanted to convey his gratitude to all involved for their tireless efforts in tackling the blaze over the past three weeks.

"One guy came in who looked like he’d been down a pit – he didn’t have a buy a drink.

"We see people working away and it never stops, we’re very grateful to them all.”

As of today (Tuesday September 2) there were nine appliances on the scene which were continuing to monitor and deal with isolated flare-ups, all within the contained boundary.

Although the The A171 and B1416 roads have now reopened, motorists are urged to follow the road safety measures which have been put in place for their own and emergency services’ safety.