Two friends helped lift spirits in a flood-hit village yesterday by going fishing and surfing in the floodwaters.
A crowd gathered in Ewell Village on Sunday as John Kerwood, 54, landlord of the Famous Green Man pub in the high street and Glen Connett, 56, of Epsom Roofing and regular at the pub, donned their wellies and swim shorts for the stunt.
The pair reclined in deckchairs with fishing rods and a boogie board in the middle of the flood outside Bourne Hall Park, which has been there for over a month now, to the amusement of passersby.
Mr Kerwood said they were talking at the bar one night last week and cooked up the idea for the stunt which he planned to use as the screen-saver on Mr Connett's iPhone and as the image for this year's pub Christmas card.
He said: "Glen said 'fancy a spot of fishing?' and I said 'let's go for it'. It was meant to be a giggle, a couple of mates having a laugh.
"It sort of seemed to get a bit mad. I don't think I have ever talked to so many strangers in the space of 45 minutes.
"It started to get a bit cold. We had no beer and we were not catching anything so we gave up in the end."
The stunt has made the pair local celebrities after the photographs went viral online.
Mr Kerwood said that although they only did it as a laugh, they hope the publicity will encourage the council to "get of their backside" and tackle the flood.
He said: "We had a laugh along the way and hopefully it will prick someone’s conscience. We have got an awful lot of elderly people in Ewell Village."
An edited image of the scene posted on Facebook
Another pub regular, Mark Stanesby said the stunt was typical of the duo.
He said: "It’s something they would do. They are quite funny and like a joke. There was quite a crowd by the bus stop trying to take photos and videos."
Bess Harding, who lives in the village and was in the Green Man at the time raising money for Epsom Medical Equipment Fund, said someone came rushing in with the pictures.
She said: "With current problems and weather everyone needs a lift to make them smile.
"Two men were sitting in deckchairs in pants, wellington boots fishing either side of the flood sign outside Bourne Hall, Ewell.
"They had a surfboard and a duck too. "It was hilarious with word spreading like wildfire around the village."
Last week Epsom Council bought in four pumps in a bid to reduce the flooding outside Bourne Hall.
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