Tamsin Melville
Political Reporter, BBC Radio Cornwall

About 150 people crammed into a room at a village hotel to discuss the aftermath of the flash flooding at Coverack.

The public meeting, at the Paris Hotel, heard from members of Devon and Cornwall Police, Cornwall Council the fire service, the Environment Agency and council contractors Cormac

There has been a lot of praise for the community spirit in the village, and also for the emergency services.

Cornwall Live

Presenter Piers Morgan has upset viewers by his onscreen handling of the flooding in Coverack, external.

Jon Kay
BBC News

Andrew Segal
Local Live

Insurers say they are "on the ground supporting people" affected by flash flooding in Coverack.

The Association of British Insurers said firms "proactively contacted customers yesterday to start processing claims and find out what help customers needed".

Image source, PA

Laura Hughes, of the ABI, said: "Flooding is very traumatic for those affected, and the speed and force of the water which swept through Coverack must have made this a very frightening experience.

"The core purpose of insurance is to offer help and support when disasters like this happen.

"Insurers have been quick to contact customers in the area and to get people on the ground so they can support residents with the clear-up and start the process of repairing homes and businesses."

Adrian Campbell, Environment Correspondent
BBC Spotlight

Many people in the village are talking about community spirit after yesterday's flood.

Here's another example: someone has left out cleaning supplies for those who need them.

Press Association

Image source, PA

A school bus driver caught up in the Coverack flood said he was determined to ensure his sole passenger got home safely after they became stranded on a precarious stretch of road.

Father-of-two Thomas Duffield said the driving conditions were the worst he had experienced, with huge boulders "the size of a wheel" crashing into his vehicle on a steep hill approaching the Cornish village.

Mr Duffield, from Penzance, said he made his way safely down the hill by keeping in a low gear and at low speed, before his journey was halted by abandoned cars.

The 33-year-old said he was so concerned about the surging water and debris that he kept pressure on the foot brake, despite the handbrake being applied as they waited for help.

He said: "I felt a little bit uneasy about taking my foot off the pedal, because it was like we were in the water rapids.

"I thought that one large impact, at the wrong moment, could send the bus even further down the hill."

Clare Woodling
BBC Spotlight

One of two people airlifted from their home in Coverack to safety yesterday has described flash flooding in their home as an "absolute nightmare" that has left them "devastated".

Penny Hammill and her husband, Christopher, were rescued by a coastguard helicopter after water burst in through a door and was 5ft to 6ft deep in places.

Image source, Peter Wood

Mrs Hammill, who is in borrowed clothes and staying with friends, said: "The water came downstream on both sides of our property. It came in the back gate and was so fierce it opened the bottom half of the stable door and came streaming into the kitchen.

"Everything's ruined. The dishwasher was floating around the middle of the kitchen and the washing machine was bouncing up and down like a boat.

"We had to go upstairs to get out of the water and eventually the helicopter came. It took out us out the front window one at a time and dropped us in the field next door."

Press Association

Some areas of the UK received more than half a month's worth of rain in just one hour on Tuesday as flash floods hit parts of Cornwall and Kent.

The heaviest rain recorded by the Met Office on Tuesday was at Reading University, where 1.4in (36mm) of rain fell between 21:00 and 22:00. This is more than half the average rainfall expected over the entire month of July, which is usually around 2.3in (57.5mm).

But flash flooding in Cornwall on Tuesday night was not reflected in the amount of rain recorded by the Met Office in the area.

Forecaster Craig Snell said the most rain water gauges in Cornwall recorded was 0.08in (2mm) an hour at 14:00 on Tuesday. "Their gauges did not record that much at all," he said.

Despite these figures, flash floods hit the Cornish coastal village of Coverack, where 50 properties were affected and several people had to be rescued from their homes.

"[Flash floods] can be very, very localised," said the forecaster. Mr Snell said local geography affects whether heavy rain turns into flash floods.

"There are a lot of local factors," he said, "If it's more hilly, which is what we saw in Cornwall, water moves quicker. The amount of rainfall in Cornwall might not necessarily cause [flash floods] somewhere else."

Dealing with flash flooding in Coverack "was horrendous", a firefighter says.

Retained firefighter Dale Reardon, 54, was sent to the west Cornwall village to help residents on Tuesday night after his station got the call at about 16:00.

Mr Reardon, a firefighter for 20 years and shift manager based at Helston, said: "It was horrendous - just such a large amount of water in such a short time.

"As it was, nobody was really badly hurt. The coastguard came in and airlifted some people to safety because we couldn't get to the houses."

"Basically, it has affected a lot of people's homes and it could have been a lot worse. I don't know how long it will take for them to get their homes back to how they were.

"We were quite busy helping people, pumping water out of their properties and using buckets and shovels and things like that."

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Radio Cornwall

BBC Radio Cornwall

An 87-year-old woman had to climb out of the bathroom window to safety during a flash flood in Coverack.

Rosemary Keane (pictured with daughter-in-law Mary Roberts) lives in an annex adjoining her daughter's house.

She said: "I really was terrified to be trapped in the flat.

"My son took the window out and a friend got in behind me and my son was in front. One was pushing and the other was pulling."

Mary Roberts spoke to us earlier about losing some of her possessions in the flood.

Tamsin Melville
Political Reporter, BBC Radio Cornwall

Coverack's flood-damaged main road is expected to be repaired in "weeks rather than months", a council cabinet member says.

The comments made by transport portfolio holder Geoff Brown were greeted with applause at a public meeting in the village (pictured).

He said council contractor Cormac would be in the village with heavy plant machinery on Thursday and staff would "not be leaving until it is complete".

BBC Radio Cornwall

Meetings have been taking place this morning in Coverack and at County Hall, Truro, to plan the clean-up operation after the village was hit by a 4ft torrent of water during what a senior councillor says was a "freak flash flood".

The main access road down into Coverack has been ripped up and will cost thousands of pounds to repair. Boulders, and debris litter the beach and sewage and water supplies will need urgent work.

Sue James, Cornwall Council member responsible for the environment and public protection, said: "It was a freak flash flood, I think.

"People say who have lived here for 50 years that they've never seen anything like it. It wasn't something that could be predicted."

Image source, Adam Paynter

Tamsin Melville
Political Reporter, BBC Radio Cornwall

A concern for Cornwall Council in the aftermath of the Coverack's flooding is that a care home has lost power on its ground floor, a council cabinet member says.

Transport portfolio holder Geoff Brown (pictured right) said that was his "main concern at the moment" at a public meeting in the village.

He also told the meeting that a generator was on the way.

BBC Radio Cornwall