A GARDEN centre boss has spoken out after his business was hit by an outbreak of the winter sickness bug.
Mark Cleary, who with wife Christina runs the family run Old Railway Line Garden Centre, has spoken of his fears of the impact of the outbreak on the Three Cocks attraction that employs 74 people.
He said: "This past Sunday should have been perfect, the weather was good, people hadn’t been out in the garden in a long time but nobody came here. We’ve worked to build a reputation and it could be unravelled in days.
"My fear is for our new members of staff, we’ve just taken on four and all our staff are full time, but if we have a 14% drop in takings something has to give."
Forty customers and staff who’d been at the Old Railway Line Garden Centre in Three Cocks on Mother’s Day, Sunday March 6 had fallen ill prompting health officials to investigate an outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea.
Tests have since confirmed traces of the norovirus, one of the most commons stomach bugs in the UK, have been found in samples taken.
Mr Cleary said people had wrongly assumed the sickness was related to its restaurant or coffee shop.
He said: "We’ve been continually talking to people, we’ve told all our staff on the shop floor to explain it to customers and tell them it nothing to do with food preparation. But we can only talk to the people who come here, we can’t talk to the people who are worried about coming here."
The garden centre boss said has also thanked the local community for its support.
The centre has remained open throughout and the centre’s five star food hygiene rating has also been confirmed.
’It has been horrendous’ - see this week’s Brecon & Radnor Express on sale now for the full interview with Mark Cleary