The brewery owners had waded into the rising waters to try and save the pub’s picnic benches, which were floating down the Aire, the river that runs alongside the Bridge Inn.
“I think there’s still a picnic bench in a tree somewhere, further down the river,” said Mr Holt.
“I called John and said, ‘put some old jeans on, we need to wade out and stop these benches floating away down the river’.
“The current was very strong – we could easily have been put into the river, which some people criticised us for as well, but we were in control.
“So we thought the best thing to do is just let it happen. We were already wet so let’s just get a beer and sit down and then someone took a photo of us from the bridge and the next thing we knew they became a sort of viral kind of thing.”
Not long afterwards, Mr Kelly was being asked to do interviews on Brazilian radio and they were featured on Have I Got News for You?
“It was quite amusing, really, and everyone sort of thought it was great, two Yorkshiremen sitting in the river having a pint,” remembered Mr Holt.
“Dickie Bird, God rest his soul, said we were the finest Yorkshiremen that ever existed. I’m not from Yorkshire. I took it anyway,” added Mr Kelly, who is originally from Durham.