'We haven't got a day off until September'

The school summer holidays are the busiest time of the year for many in the tourism industry

With the school holidays now under way, tourism and hospitality businesses in Devon are entering their busiest time of the year. The BBC's Kirk England talks to some of them about the pressures they face and how things go "from one extreme to the other" between summer and winter.

"It’s absolutely manic," said chef Jamie Rogers. "We’re serving from lunchtime right through until dinner."

He runs a pop-up restaurant, The Smoking Lobster in Salcombe, during the busy summer holidays, alongside his restaurant Twenty Seven in Kingsbridge, which is open year-round.

The 33-year-old said: "Me and my partner haven’t got a day off now until September.

“It’s got to be done because you’ve got to make it when everyone’s here.

"That money gives you a blanket and saves you through the winter."

He spoke as tourism bosses in Devon and Cornwall said they were hoping for a "bounce back" after a quieter start to the holiday season in the South West.

Devon chef Jamie Rogers said the summer can be "absolutely manic"

The summer caused "a lot of pressure," said Trudi Harrington, of cleaning company Devon Maids

Visit Devon estimates that tourism is worth about £2.5bn to the county's economy each year.

But, for obvious reasons, it is one particular part of the year that brings in most of that money.

“It’s from one extreme to the other,” said Trudi Harrington, of the cleaning and property management company Devon Maids.

She said: “In the summer, you can end up with 14 to 20 changeovers in a week, and then, in the winter, you can have maybe two or three a month."

"It is a lot of pressure because, if you get to a holiday home that's been left in a state, it’s stressful, said the 56-year-old, who is responsible for more than a dozen holiday lets in and around Kingsbridge.

"We just want it to look perfect and for people to go: 'Wow! What a beautiful property.'"

Crispin Jones says his business relies on trade during the school summer holidays

"The whole year is focused on the six weeks of the summer holidays," said Crispin Jones of the Waterborn Paddleboarding Activity Centre in Kingsbridge.

The 38-year-old has been running the business for just over 10 years.

He said: "You are constantly making sure you are ready for it and then just praying that the weather gods are on side."