A MOTHER and daughter who have been helping York flood victims since late last year have finally closed their roadside cafe.

Michaela and Jade Robinson, affectionately dubbed Fossy’s Flossys, began serving hot food and drinks to people who were flooded out of their homes in the Huntington Road area on New Year’s Eve.

They took over from Copmanthorpe Scouts, who had set up the facility just after the River Foss burst its banks on Boxing Day.

Lynne Balding, a York resident whose own daughter Nicola had been flooded, lent them a mobile catering van,York-based manufacturer Portakabin lent them a portable building, Calor Gas gave them gas canisters and Warburtons gave them an unlimited supply of bread buns.

Since then, their van and its accompanying gazebo and seating area has become a hub for the local community, with Michaela becoming a ‘shoulder to cry on’ for people struggling to get their lives and homes back together again, said Lynne.

Michaela said: “We have cried with people and hugged them and laughed with them.”

She said many homes were still being renovated, with contractors asked to make donations in return for food and drink.

Michaela, who has often come in to man the cafe after working nights as a care assistant, said she had hardly taken a day off, other than to attend her mother’s funeral after she died suddenly in January. “She would have been proud of what we have done,” she said.

She and Jade were recently presented with York & District Medals in recognition of their work.

Thanking volunteers for their support, she said she had loved running the cafe but decided it was time to call it a day, not least so that her five-year-old son did not have to spend his entire summer holiday there. She said people had been tooting their horns and saying how sorry they were to see them go.

“One woman was in tears,” she added.

The cafe ended with a farewell party on Saturday, which was attended by many people and even involved a Karaoke session.