Diners left stranded after arriving at glitzy new Manchester restaurant to find doors bolted shut

Diners were left stranded and had their birthday plans 'ruined' after arriving at a glitzy new Manchester restaurant over the weekend to find the doors bolted shut.

Customers had been sent emails about their reservations being cancelled due to a leak, but many claimed these were not seen after landing in their junk folders and that they instead turned up at the venue unaware of the change in plans.

They had been looking forward to dining at the recently opened Raft Manchester restaurant, in Spinningfields, instead appeared to be greeted with locked doors and a bailiff letter stuck to the glass after arriving for their bookings.

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The owners of the new, day-to-night spot opened the doors of the venue, on Bridge Street, three months ago. The two-storey unit combines a swanky high-end restaurant, a tavern-style pub, two large private dining rooms, a 'toilet disco’, 360 DJ booths and an after-hours club.

Before the weekend, guests were sent emails informing them that due to the 'recent wet weather and sudden drop in temperature', main water pipes into the kitchen and toilets had burst and caused leaks.

The message apologised to diners and said reservations had been cancelled from October 11 to October 13. The venue said it had contacted other restaurants in Manchester to try and assist with re-accommodating reservations.

However, guests claimed to have not seen these emails due to them going into their junk folders and say they were not directly called about the change of plans to their booking. They instead arrived at the venue to find a 'Forfeiture Notice' note on the door, dated October 11, from a bailiff service.

One diner,