THE owner of a beachside cafe says if the storms of last winter come back to wreak havoc again, she may be forced to walk away from her business.

The severe weather conditions at the beginning of the year caused a huge amount of damage to the Seaton Beach Cafe, amounting to £350,000 in insurance claims for the repairs. But now, because of the high risk of the same thing happening again, proprietor Nicki Barry has not been able to find an insurance company willing to provide her with cover.

'I'm not surprised they don't want my business,' said Nicki. 'Obviously I am covered for the usual things such as public liability, but after last winter I can't find a single insurance company willing to take on the cafe for storm and flood damage.'

Nicki says the reason she wants to make her dilemma public is that she is not the only one who could suffer from a lack of insurance.

'This is not just my issue, businesses all over Cornwall, including Looe and Polperro, are finding themselves with a similar problem,' she said.

'I understand the excess on storm and flood damage would now be huge after what has happened to me, but that would be nothing, in the worst case scenario, compared to what I would have to find myself to cover a similar amount of damage again. I would not be able to afford it. I would probably just have to walk away, and as a business based on tourism, that would be 20 jobs lost.

'If this happens all over the county it could have a catastrophic effect on the local economy.

Nicki said that businesses can apply for a grant of £5,000 towards flood defences from Defra, but the money doesn't arrive until all invoices, proving payment for work done, have been received, which takes time.

Like many other businesses vulnerable to the sea and rivers, Nicki is watching the weather trends. But she has also been battening down the hatches in preparation for what she hopes will not be the inevitable. 'We have reinforced the outside of the cafe with more blockwork to make it a lot stronger, put up storm shutters, closed off some doorways, and built a flood-defence barrier,' said Nicki. 'This won't stop the water from coming over the top but we are hopeful it will be diverted back down to the car park and into the river, instead of flooding out the cafe.'