“Catastrophic” flooding caused the ceiling above a café to part-collapse overnight before customers stepped up to help.

The owners of Brass Monkey Coffee, in Radlett, rushed to the Watling Street unit after a delivery driver called to say it was flooding at around 1.30am on Sunday, September 15.

It took hours before Affinity Water could get someone out to fix the issue, as the leak poured down from the boiler of the flat above.

“We arrived at the shop, and it was torrential,” owner Warren Lipman said. “You had a torrential downpour for hours into the shop.

"It was up to our ankles in water.”

The source was turned off at around 4.30am after hours of bailing it out of the café, which also offers affordable art that was on the wall, as the ceiling partly collapsed in multiple places.

Mr Lipman, 52, shared a message letting customers know the business would be closed after “catastrophic flooding” and then was amazed and thankful to find customers turning up in their cars and asking how they could help.

Warren Lipman.Warren Lipman. (Image: Brass Monkey Coffee.) One customer who was just driving by got out and started loading bags of wet plaster, ruined products, and waste in their car to drive off to the tip.

With all the help, including sweeping out the floor and wiping down tables, Brass Monkey was “unbelievably” able to restart service the next day by offering takeaway cups from the door as it had done during lockdown.

Mr Lipman admitted that “it has been and will continue to be a massive financial problem for us to get back on our feet”, but credited the people of Radlett for how far it has come so far.

“We’re grateful for every cup of coffee we sell,” he added. “It doesn’t belong to us anymore it belongs to the community.”

Mr Lipman, who works in the technology sector, opened the business as a passion project with his wife in March 2022, before they moved to a larger location next door in October that year – keeping the original unit as a gallery.

Brass Monkey amid flood damage.The flood damaged cafe. (Image: Brass Monkey Coffee.) (Image: Brass Monkey Coffee.) (Image: Brass Monkey Coffee.) Manager Vikki and co-founder Michelle.Manager Vikki and co-founder Michelle. (Image: Brass Monkey Coffee.)