THE good times once flowed at the Waterside in Summerseat, but nobody ever imagined the river would claim the popular pub.

The 200-year-old listed building, situated in a conservation area in the Irwell Valley, was reopened in 2010 after its current owner, Owais Khan, bowed to the pressure of a community campaign to open its doors.

Previously, the impressive 19th century brick building, in Kay Street, was a hub for youngsters in the 1980s when it compromised of a pub, disco area and fine dining restaurant.

Broadcaster Victoria Derbyshire, who grew up in Ramsbottom, tweeted a picture of the sunken pub alongside a post which read: “This is where us teenagers from Bury spent most Fri nights in the 80s...sad to see The Waterside like this #floods.”

Speaking to the Bury Times, the BBC journalist, who is being treated for breast cancer, said: “I have brilliant memories of spending Friday nights at the Waterside.

“I was at school in Bury and lots of us who lived in Holcombe Brook, Summerseat, etc, used to meet up there every week.

“We’d have a few drinks and then the DJ got going and we’d dance to some awful/fantastic 80s music.

“I recall it was a beautiful old building in a pretty spot and it reminds me of a brilliant time in my life — teenage years, friends, and so many laughs.

“It’s such a shame it’s collapsed and I hope someone can restore it to its former glory and open it up to the public again.”

Originally part of the cotton mill on the River Irwell, the Waterside was once a canteen for the mill’s workforce.

Cllr Dorothy Gunther, of North Manor ward, said: “I have very fond memories of the pub.

“In my whole 30 years of living in Summerseat with my husband, we have enjoyed countless lovely meals and even celebrated former council leader, Albert Little’s 80th birthday.

“A residents group even gathered there many years about to get a car park in Robin Road which the community desperately needed.

“I’m sure there are people in Summerseat who may even have memories of the building when it operated as a mill and that will evoke a lot of different feelings.

“It’s been a great meeting place over the years and it’s sad to see a 200-year-old building meet its demise the way it has.”

The shutdown pub was reopened when businessman Mr Khan, who runs property company Kingsley Estates, spent £70,000 to bring it back to its former glory, and residents repaid the move by flocking to the busy pub and restaurant in 2010.

Before then, the Waterside had been closed for four years when a previous leasing arrangement ceased.

The shutting of the pub was deemed a big loss to the community, but a subsequent campaign via email, telephone and online calling for the Waterside’s owner to bring the venue back into use, proved successful.

However, the pub’s success only lasted a matter of years after it closed again in 2012.

John Leyland, of Ramsbottom Heritage Society said: “The Waterside was the canteen and nursery for the mill which employed up to 400 people in its heyday.

“In the Second World War, the mill worked round the clock making army clothing and the canteen in the Waterside provided lunch during the one hour break and watched government newsreel films.

“A nurse was also based there to ensure workers did not take time off. The car park used to be the yard where two shire horses were kept, they were used to pull wagons from the railway goods shed — now Victorian Lanterns apartments to the mill. Horses were used and kept there until the early 1960s.

"The society was saddened to hear of the demolition of the Waterside, which was part of Brooksbottoms Mill.”