BUTLIN’S holiday resort in Minehead will remain closed until Friday (September 22) after it suffered flood damage in Sunday’s heavy rain.

The four-day closure will take the resort through a period of Met Office yellow warnings for rain during the week as the remnants of Hurricane Lee are expected to cross the Atlantic from the USA and hit Britain.

A month’s worth of rain fell on Sunday and the Met Office has forecast more heavy rain for parts of England and Wales on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Butlin’s apologised to holidaymakers who had already booked with it and said it would give full refunds.

A spokesperson said in a statement for customers: “We have taken the difficult decision to close due to several important venues being impacted by the weather.

“We have seen an exceptional amount of rainfall at our Minehead resort, resulting in a number of our venues, including our pool, buffet restaurants, and Centre Stage, as well as accommodation units, closing.

“The safety of our guests and team is our top priority and the team have been working hard to clear the affected areas.

“However, we are unable to give you the full Butlin’s experience you would expect from us, therefore we have made the difficult decision to close from Monday to Thursday.

“We understand how disappointing this will be for you and your family, we have not taken this decision lightly and we are very sorry.”

The spokesperson said anybody affected could visit the Butlin’s website to see what their options were, which would include a full refund or moving their break to another date.

They said: “Please note, if the cost of your chosen break is cheaper, we will refund the difference. If it is more expensive, you would pay the difference.

“We anticipate our phone lines will be very busy so please do bear with us.

“There is no rush to fill in the form, so please do not worry.

“If you choose a refund option, please do not call. This will be processed automatically.”

One Butlin’s holidaymaker writing on social media, Suzy Andrews, said Butlin’s ‘should be incredibly proud of the staff this weekend’.

She said: “There are a lot of exhausted people working but they are pushing forward with what they can.

“The rain was absolutely ridiculous. We should be used to it, but that amount of rain in such a short space of time is going to cause damage.

“Our friends have had to leave a day early because they were flooded out, and it is a shame, but it is what it is, they cannot move people into accommodation they do not have.

“Good luck with the clean up, and thank you for such a great weekend.”