Floods special: The story of the sofa

The sofa drifting down the town's main street.

Appleby was hit by flooding three times during December's storms, and dozens of homes and businesses around the town were damaged.

But one unusual image captured the imaginations of people around the world... a sofa drifting down the main street.

ITV Border's Matthew Taylor tracked down the woman who owned the sofa.

The sofa drifting down the town's main street. Credit: ITV Border

It belonged to Charlotte Ashley, and it was stored in an old shed in the corner of the grounds of her family-run garage in the centre of the town.

The sofa disappeared on Saturday 5 December, as flood water poured into the garage compound.

Charlotte filmed it on her mobile phone as it floated past her own home, which was also flooded out.

The sofa may not have been a valued piece of furniture, but Charlotte, as well as a great many others in the town, lost a huge amount during the floods.

However, the town is showing signs of recovery, aided in part by the economic boost of this year's Appleby Horse Fair.

You can watch Matthew Taylor's full report here: