His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester met villagers and volunteers from Coverack who worked alongside emergency services in the devastating flash flood last summer. 

Cornwall Council organised a celebration to coincide with the royal visit and praise the people of the village for their resilience and community spirit.

The main road in Coverack was washed away and more than 50 homes and businesses were flooded when the storm hit on the afternoon of July 18 2017. 

Residents of the village took in their evacuated neighbours and used local knowledge to guide emergency services around the flood waters so they could rescue stranded people. 

Two residents were winched from their rooftop and a mum and her two young daughters were piggybacked to safety by firefighters. 

The Environment Agency recorded approximately 180mm of rainfall in three hours – three times the monthly average for the whole of July and enough to fill the Royal Albert Hall four times over.

Working round the clock, CORMAC got the main road and carpark, ripped apart by the torrent of floodwater, repaired and reopened in five days – vital to a village reliant on the summer tourist trade.

Cornwall Council continues to work with a small number of residents and business owners to address some outstanding issues.