Cornwall desperate for more help to fix storm damage

Three months on and Newquay's Towan beach is still scarred by the strength of the sea. It's just one of the areas suffering £21 million of damage caused by storms.

Cornwall Council has warned that as well as needing to cover damage caused by the ferocious storms which battered the county between December and March, it is also facing a backlog of £200m in road maintenance. In Newquay, it has only been able to do emergency repairs to make the site safe, while it waits on Government cash.

So far the storms have run up bills of £15 million for coastal protection, £1.4 million for coastal pathways and £5 million for highway repairs. Fixing the collapsed road at Calstock alone was half a million.

Just a few months ago Prime Minister David Cameron promised his chequebook was open. But it's been revealed Cornwall Council is only entitled £823,000 in emergency money from the Bellwin Fund, and it still doesn't know how much it will get from a £130 million Environment Agency pot. So far it has paid for temporary repairs with its reserves, but can't fund any permanent works.

For towns like Newquay that rely on tourism, time is ticking on, with just over two months to go until the summer holidays.

Kathy Wardle reports:-