NICKI Barry who owns the Seaton Beach Cafe, which was badly damaged by last week's storms, has vowed she will not be beaten by the weather.

One good thing to come out of the flooding has been the finding among the debris in the cafe of a gold wedding ring.

'Someone rang up a few weeks ago reporting they had lost their ring and asking if we had found it anywhere,' said Nicki.

'At the time I had to say no and I didn't take any details down. I am hoping that the person who lost their ring will read this story and contact us. It would be great to give something so personal back to the owner.'

Work on repairs started at the cafe this week when a digger moved onto the site to start taking away the tonnes of sand which the waves threw into the outside barbecue area.

The sea went straight into the cafe building itself which at one stage was flooded up to three feet deep.

'The flooding was bad in January but this time it was far worse,' said Nicki. 'Everything was wrecked, everything has gone. I have been here for 10 years and never experienced anything like this before.'

Nicki says she is covered by insurance, but until that has been sorted out, she is having to cover costs personally herself.

'I have up to 20 staff, including six full-time, who all have to be paid,' she said. 'I have insurance for loss of earnings but I still have to pay out upfront.'

On top of business worries, Nicki has also had to deal with looters.

'It's just crazy,' she said. 'Even though the cafe car park has been cordoned off because it's a dangerous area at present, people are still coming in. They have been taking wood away which has come from the barbecue area. I have had to explain it's not driftwood and I do actually need it.

'Some are also walking around the barrier and ignoring the danger sign to watch the waves. People with children were actually standing on the roof of what is left of the barbecue at one stage. It's just plain stupid and so dangerous.'

Nicki hopes to be open for business again in about a month's time.