‘We lost our home after a huge storm – so we moved into our local Wetherspoon’

An elderly couple who lost their home in a storm have moved in – to their favourite local Wetherspoon.

Catherine and Harold Mills were already big fans of the Spoons and would visit once a week for a cheap dinner and glass of wine.

But after their home was destroyed by a falling tree – forcing them to flee with just a few items of clothing – they were in no doubt of where they wanted to seek safety.

They spent their first night at the hotel pub on 9 January and six weeks on have became part of the furniture.

They are enjoying a cooked breakfast and a dinner from the chain’s menu every day – along with their favourite tipple.

Catherine, 86, says that despite such a traumatic experience, being able to stay at The John Francis Basset in Camborne, Cornwall, had made the ordeal more bearable.

They will be staying until at least 5 March when they hope to move into rental accomodation – which would mark the end of a 55-day stay at the budget boozer.

Insurers are paying for their stay.

Catherine said: ‘Before we left I just managed to grab what we thought we needed in terms of documentation and just couple of bits of clothes.

‘A lot of personal things we had to leave and they’ve all been ruined. We left with pretty much nothing.

‘But after spending the night at my daughter’s house the next day we paid for a week at the local Wetherspoon.

‘It is just around the corner and so is near everything we know. We don’t drive any longer and don’t want to go too far away.

‘We always liked it there and would go once a week religiously. We knew lots of the people there already, although obviously not the cleaners in the hotel.

‘I don’t think we can buy a card big enough to thank everyone there for what they’ve done for us.

‘We are now fans for life’

‘We have a cooked breakfast and an evening meal every day. We pay separately for our alcoholic drinks as we keep a bill for whatever is more than a normal shopping for a week.

‘We don’t include alcohol – but we do enjoy a nice cheap glass of wine from the bar.’

Catherine said when it became clear they were staying long term staff set them up in a lovely well equipped room above the bar.

‘When the bar staff see us now they joke that we are here longer than they are and they have been so kind,’ she added.

‘We’ve been here for six weeks already and will be here until 5 March when we hope to move to a rental home.’

The couple, who have one daughter and one grandson, said they’ve got through pretty much everything on the menu.

They take advantage of pizza day and curry day each week, and love to tuck into fish and chip, paninis and jackets.

But Cath said her unexpected favourite was sticky Korean chicken bowl.

‘We’ve gone right through the menu. But we only have breakfast and dinner here. We get a sandwich or roll for lunch.

‘Anything we wanted they are always happy to provide.

‘They are so accommodating and will change the menu for you.

‘The food is cheap enough in Wetherspoon though so we can not complain. The breakfast is so cheap. Where can you get anything else for £2.99 these days.

‘They have changed the main menu now. I think my favourite is the Korean sticky chicken bowl on coconut rice. I would not have tried that normally but when I ask for more sauce they always give it to me.

‘I will say if you are alone and lost your home like that and came here you would make so many friends. Each day you come down and it is the same people coming in for their coffee or morning pint.

‘You would make so many more friends. I’ve got my husband and we have got each other.

‘The people in Wetherspoon – even those that drink quite a bit – are so kind and nice. They open the door for you and everyone has been so lovely.

‘People turn their nose up at Wetherspoon but they shouldn’t. Most people that do must have never been there. It is good for us and it has really done us proud.

‘We are now fans for life and will continue to come back here even when we do move out.’

The loss of their home

Catherine said she and her husband Harold, 84, are only just coming to terms with the loss of their home, where they have lived for 23 years, when a huge tree came down on 8 January during Storm Goretti.

She said: ‘It was a huge pine, four people hands joined together to get round the girth of it – that was how big it was.

‘It was eight yards away from our property.

‘It came down right through our home. We were lucky. We had just finished tea and I got hit on the back of the head with falling debris.

‘It was 143 years old it completely crashed the front of property. It was awful.

‘We called 999 – and the fire brigade came out and said I should go to hospital – but I escaped with just cuts and bruises.

‘We had just had our evening meal – my husband was in the kitchen and went to walk into the lounge and looked up.

‘We could not believe it. Even now, after so many weeks it is just beginning to sink in.

‘It was a nice home. The tree came through the lounge at the front, through the kitchen and one of the bedrooms.

‘At the time it does not really hit home – only we have come to terms with knowing we won’t be able to go back.’

Catherine says they stayed one night on her daughter’s sofa before checking into Wetherspoon the following day.

She added: ‘Wetherspoon have been absolutely marvellous, from all the girls that do the rooms to the staff in the bar.

‘We were very lucky. If my husband had been sat on the settee where he normally sits I don’t think he would be here now. It happened so fast and there wasn’t any time to react.

‘We can’t get to the home at all. It is still a building site and not deemed safe. Only when it is secured will we know the full damage. Then they can take furniture out.

‘It has been such a stressful time. But it could have been a lot worse if we hadn’t ended up where we are now.’

The couple have been told it could take more than a year to fix their flat.

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