The people of Coverack have been widely praised for their community spirit in the face of adversity, as residents band together to start repairing their village after it was badly damaged by flash floods.

Some homes and businesses were almost destroyed by the force of the water, which ripped walls, fences, greenhouses, and roads apart like paper.

The main road into Coverack, the B3294, has been closed and will remain so for some time as the extensive repair works are carried out.

Councillor Geoff Brown, the portfolio holder for transport at Cornwall Council, said repairs would take ‘take weeks and not months.'

Falmouth Packet:

67-year-old Christopher Price, a gunsmith, owns a property in the centre of Coverack which was amongst the worst damaged.

Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, he said that the property was uninsured and would now face a large repair bill to make the property, which he rents to friends, habitable again.

He said: “'The first I heard was when my wife rang to say the ground floor of the property was flooded. Luckily our friends weren't there so they were ok but there was a lot of damage.

“It's not insured - we couldn't get insurance because of the flood risk here. I'll just rescue what I can, replace the rest and make repairs.

“It has ruined the furniture and everything, the wall would have gone if the fireman didn't break the windows.

"It's not too bad for this part of the world. It will cost a few quid but you have to get on with it.”

Falmouth Packet:

A local business owner, who ran the Old Mill Shop, was too devastated to give a full statement, and busied himself carrying his ruined stock out into the street.

He said: "It smells strongly of oil in the shop because there were two canisters washed down. 

"Everything is ruined, there was raw sewage flowing around.”

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A public meeting was held, at the Paris Hotel, at 11.30am, where local people gathered to raise concerns, and were assured repair works would begin immediately, and measures would be put in place to protect the village.

Speaking at the public meeting, Ben Johnston, from the Environment Agency, said that 100mm of rain fell over three hours, with most of that falling in the first hour.

This caused the flash flooding, which resulted in some watercourses becoming polluted, but drinking water was still safe.

Also at the meeting was a representative for Cormac, who declared that their teams would not be leaving until the job was complete, which received raucous applause.

He said: "We've cleared as much as we can and we are continuing to clear up. Our big concern is the hill coming down which has been totally destroyed and devastated.

"It's certainly not a patch and mend job, it's going to be total reconstruction, so we will be here permanently until we put a new back surface on it."

Falmouth Packet:

Despite the uncertain future regarding repair works, local people remained in good spirits, and throughout the village there were many scenes of neighbours coming to each other’s aid.

Ian Watt, 55, a nurse and holiday maker from Stevenage, said: “It was absolute carnage. There was water running by our cottage, and it went from a babbling brook to utter madness in no time.

"It ripped up the green house and destroyed the road, we still can't get our car out now.

"Some local lads have come to help us and they're helping us get everything out of the way.

"They're great, we would have been stuck here without them."

Falmouth Packet:

One holiday maker, Mark Grant, a 48-year-old lecturer from Chester, was so moved by what he had seen, that he sacrificed his spare time to help the community.

As the tide came in, Mark faced the impossible task of cleaning the beach, which he undertook of his own accord and without assistance, despite the enormity of the task.

He said: “We come on holiday here every year, we’ve been doing it for years.

“It’s a stunning place and has a proper community, so I thought I’d do it before the tide came back in.

“I wanted to help with the clean-up and help out our friends in the local community.”