£25,000 stock ruined in shop flood

Goffins owner Gerald Ayres arrived in the morning to find water cascading through the ceiling 'like a rainforest.'

Piles of stock ranging from curtains to bedspreads had been soaked and the murky water was half an inch deep on the carpet.

The leak was caused by an overflowing sink from the flat upstairs.

In an unfortunate sequence of events, the Western Road resident in the flat had turned on a tap early that morning but the water supply had been disconnected by contractors carrying out roadworks at the Sackville Road junction.

When no water came out he left for work without turning the tap off. The problem occurred when the supply was reconnected.

Mr Ayres said: "It was quite a shock walking into it. The leak started at the door and ran back half way down the shop."