Museum boss feared flood would ruin 17 years of work

A Leicester museum boss said he feared the worst as flood water overran the site.

The Retro Computer Museum, which is dedicated to arcades and vintage computing, has operated since 2008 and moved to larger premises on Troon Way Business Park in April.

But on Monday, heavy rain and melting snow sent "devastating" 5cm waters sweeping through the charity's site, which had never previously flooded.

Museum chairman Andy Spencer said fixtures and fittings, including arcade machines, were badly damaged.

He added: "It was horrible. I was worried 17 years of work would be lost in a day."

With the waters now receded, the clean-up operation is under way and the museum remains closed to visitors this weekend.

Carpets inside have been caked in mud and need to be replaced, while some of the museum's equipment was lost.

The arcade cabinets also need to dry out to be properly assessed with some, such as their early virtual reality games, described as "irreplaceable".

A team of volunteers have been mucking in to help dry out and clean the site, while donations of more than £2,500 have been sent in following the flood.

Mr Spencer said: "It could have been much worse.

"We've had lots of water, lots of damage. But it's just water, so hopefully we can dry things out, clean them up and get them going.

"We have a great team who have been doing a good job of clearing up. We all have other jobs so we are trying to make time to sort things.

"We're really grateful."

Mr Spencer added he hopes the museum will reopen to the public from 25 January.

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