The British Red Cross shop in Falmouth has been forced to close for several weeks following yesterday's flash flood which has caused extensive damage to the building and its stock.

Teresa Patton, area retail manager for the Red Cross in Cornwall, said staff, volunteers and members of the public have all been fantastic in response to the crisis, which resulted in water pouring into the shop and the stock-sorting area out the back. The full extent of the damage is yet to be assessed but it is clear the shop will be closed for at least two or three weeks.

Teresa appealed to members of the public to hang on to unwanted items such as clothing, toys, books and bric-a-brac to donate to the shop once the re-opening date has been established. While much of the stock on the rails in the shop has been saved, some of the items in the back room, which were waiting to be sorted, have been damaged.

Teresa said: “As many people will have seen on the photographs in the media, the shop was completely surrounded by water and a lot of it came into the shop causing damage to the windows as it did so.

"Today the flooding has gone but there are still pools of water, muck and silt on the floor, stock has been damaged out the back and other things, like our vacuum cleaner and other equipment, has been damaged.

“Our maintenance company is coming in today along with an electrician to check the electrics and our staff and volunteers have been absolutely amazing helping to clear the shop out so we can bring the driers in as soon as possible.

“I’d like to say a massive thank you to Sharon Clemens, who is the shop manager in Plymouth but has been providing holiday cover. She has been an absolute brick, as have the assistant manager, who came in on her day off, and all our wonderful volunteers. We’ve also had lots of really nice offers of help from members of the public.

“It’s hard to say at this stage how long it will take us to reopen but I think we’re looking at at least two or three weeks, if not longer. The best way that members of the public can help us now is by putting items to one side that they no longer need, so we can appeal for donations in advance of reopening the shop and have some great new stock to sell to raise money for our work supporting people in crisis.”