Boscastle residents mop up after floods

Updated 11.14 Fri Jun 22 2007

Keywords: floods, Boscastle, Cornwall

Villagers are mopping up after another deluge of water in the flood-prone Cornish village of Boscastle.

The main road was closed and some shops and properties in the centre were under about 3ft of water after Thursday's torrential downpours.

Fire crews who helped residents pump out the water said there had been no injuries and that a repeat of a devastating flood experienced three years ago was unlikely

However, the new flood defence system helped save the village from the fast-flowing water and the higher than usual river levels.

On August 16, 2004 torrential rain caused an estimated 440 million gallons of flood water to pour through the Cornwall village, devastating many buildings and washing vehicles into the harbour and beyond.

Paul Bullard, of the Falmouth Coastguard, said: "Several people have seriously affected properties that had been demolished last time. From a material point of view there is quite a lot of damage to the properties.

"At the moment the level of risk has subsided. There is a lot of clean up to do but there is not a greater level of risk for Boscastle than there was a few days ago."

Elsewhere in the UK, several streets in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, were deluged with up to 2ft of water after a torrential downpour.

Firefighters battled at several spots to stem the floods, which seriously damaged computer equipment at East Ayrshire Council offices and also swamped a Marks & Spencer store.

Around 2,000 homes in the town were also left without power for up to three hours after lightning struck an overhead line during the storm.