'Most of my stuff is buried in mud'

By Jenny Matthews
BBC News Online in Boscastle

Mr Trethewey had to wade in deep mud to recover what he could

Richard Trethewey was on his annual holiday to Boscastle when the floods struck, wrecking the ground-floor flat he had been renting with his family for two weeks.

On Wednesday, two days later, he was allowed back in to fetch what he could find of his possessions.

Covered from head to foot in mud, he described the state of the flat.

"I had to climb in. Straight through the doorway, all the way through the living room, it was a metre high with bushes, trees, mud, all mixed up together.

"You couldn't stand up anywhere. The best you could do was half crouch because you were so high up against the ceiling.

"In the bathroom, it was about a foot and a half thick with mud.

The family car was washed into the harbour

"In the bedroom, the cupboard doors were off, the beds were all over the place, the drawers smashed up."

Mr Trethewey, 20, from Aldershot, managed to retrieve half a suitcase, a small rucksack and a carrier bag of possessions - all covered in mud.

As he was holidaying with his mother, father and brother, as well as two dogs, most of their stuff is still under the mud.

"I've got one trainer, my trainer, a pair of my mum's shoes. I've got two bottles of cider and just a few things in the suitcase.

"I haven't got my wallet, no phone, that's all I could see. No clothes of my own - they're just my brother's."

Mr Trethewey said he felt shaken when he witnessed the damage.

Mr Trethewey was out shopping when the floods hit

"I didn't expect it to be as bad as it was. When I walked in, I was like, 'Whoah!'"

He himself had been out shopping when the floods hit, but his father, Andy, was in the flat with the family's two dogs. He had to stand on a table and climb up to a skylight, holding the pets aloft, to be rescued.

Mr Trethewey said it was only just dawning on him that the muddy scene he had just witnessed could have been his father's grave.

"I would have been worried if I had known he was in there. All I could think of was the dogs because I knew they were in there," he said.

The family is hoping to head home on Wednesday. Although one of their cars had been washed into the harbour, one was still working, he said, as long as they could find their keys.

People airlifted to safety above the flooded streets of Boscastle

On a scale of one to 10 how would he rate his holiday?

"Well, it was a bit exciting but it's gone down to about a three now. It was about an eight."

Would he come back?

"Once it's all fixed up then yes, I'll come down and see what it's like."

But next year he might choose a place on slightly higher ground, he said.