Frank Sinatra may have sung Come Rain or Shine but Sinatra's restaurant was left singing the blues after a burst water main caused damage estimated at £30,000.

According to joint owner Mario Digiorgi, 29, the disaster was a double whammy for the popular eaterie at the foot of The Clappers beauty spot in the village of Sharpenhoe, near Luton.

'We were absolutely full on Sunday night with 120 customers,' he said. 'The burst main meant we lost pressure so there was no running water. We were forced to close for health and safety reasons and had to usher everyone out. We lost a whole night's takings.

'We couldn't check all the taps but apparently the water came back on about 10 or 11 o'clock that evening. Evidently one of the customers had turned the water on full in the ladies' loo.

'The basin has a pivotal plug and the pressure of the water coming on must have forced it closed. When my father went in on Monday morning it had been running all night. It was four inches deep in the ladies' toilet and restaurant."

Monday - usually a day of rest for the family business - was spent mopping up and calling the insurance company.

Mario estimates the damage to be in the region of £30,000. 'We've had to rip up sodden wooden flooring and carpets,' he said. 'We checked the electrics and they were OK so it's been business as usual. We're working around the problem.'

Sinatra's - formerly the Lynmore Arms - had a £500,000 make-over when the Digiorgi family took over two years ago. Singer Frank Sinatra was known as Ol' Blue Eyes.