Essex steakhouse set on boat sinks 'like Titanic' as diners prepare for lunchtime reservations

23 December 2022, 17:27 | Updated: 23 December 2022, 17:46

Staff at an Essex restaurant were evacuated after its replica boat setting began to sink into a lake.

Steakhouse Carter and Miller at Lakeside shopping centre, Thurrock was pictured dipping into the water by the Thurrock shopping centre after 11am today.

Waiters and cooks were forced to flee the sinking site.

Miller and Carter's management wrote on Facebook this afternoon: "Unfortunately we will be closed until further notice due to structural issues.

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"We will contact every guest as soon as possible, for safety reasons we are unable to access our restaurant to answer any phone calls. Management will be calling all guests with upcoming bookings.

"We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused."

Lakeside's owners added that its decked Boardwalk area has now been closed until further notice.

Shopping director Howard Oldstein said: "We're allowing it to take its natural course and once it's done that we will do what is required to deal with the situation at hand."

No one is thought to have been harmed in the incident.

Worried customers tweeted that their Christmas dinner reservations were now at risk.

Facebook user Chloe Scott wrote: "Right before Christmas", attaching a disappointed emoji.

Another social media commenter wrote: "It's sinking like the Titanic."

The steakhouse is one of south Essex's best-reviewed restaurants, with a 4.4-star Facebook rating based on more than 800 reviews.