A journey into the eye of the storm
Fierce winds and heavy rain have battered the South West of England for weeks and more dire weather is forecast in the coming days. The BBC's Michael Hirst is travelling around Cornwall following the story from some of the worst-affected areas.
On his journey, he is meeting those caught in the eye of the storm and recording their experiences on video and camera.
James Roberts, 21, is a fisherman in Newlyn and an RNLI lifeboat volunteer.
"Apart from one day in January, last time I was out was the first week in December.
"If we hadn't had a good summer, it would be a massive blow for me. With taxes being paid in January, mooring fees and boat maintenance, fishermen have lots of outlay and nothing coming in.
"I dread to think what some of the smaller boats are dealing with when they haven't been making any money for two months."
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Patrick Harvey is the coxswain at RNLI Penlee lifeboat station and works closely with the fishing community.
A fisherman for more than 20 years, he told the BBC there has only been one day's fishing since December, and the lack of business was hitting local industry hard.
"Those suffering most are the inshore fleet - handliners and netters fishing for bass, mackerel and using gill nets for haddock and white fish like cod."
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Josephine Wall, a retired mother of three from Porthleven, said the 2.5 tonne baulks that stop swell from entering the harbour had snapped like matchsticks in the recent storms.
"The force of the sea has been unbelievable," said the 74-year-old. "They've had to take all the boats out of the harbour. And they haven't done that for more than 100 years."
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Josephine Wall next to 2.5 tonne timber baulks that she said had been snapped out of place in Porthleven harbour "like matchsticks" Jeremy Richards, 47, has been sailing around the Cornish coast for 40 years.
"1989 was bad but at least the harbour baulks didn't break then. I'm just lucky to still have the boat."
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