A Midland couple who survived freak floods in Cornwall visited Birmingham yesterday to see how residents were coping four months after a tornado ripped through their homes and businesses.

Yvonne and Russell Gaskell, who moved from Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire to Boscastle in 1998, had to be winched to safety from the roof of their shop when the picturesque village was flooded in August 2004.

For a village that depended heavily on tourism it meant many hotels, restaurants, shops and bars were forced to close at the height of the holiday season.

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During a visit to Balsall Heath - one of the areas worst hit by the tornado which struck on July 28 - they said their business was flourishing again.

Mr Gaskell, who runs

Boscastle Rock Shop with his wife, said: " We were incredibly lucky. It was a frightening experience for everyone involved and, for a while, it looked very bleak.

"However we've had a fairytale season this year, the tourists have been so supportive, as have our local council."

After being shown the scores of homes and shops still in need of urgent repair the couple said it was "obvious so much more needs to be done" to help local people recover.

She said: "People here don't seem to be getting the same support we received after this disaster. The chief executive of North Cornwall District Council was having meetings with residents in Boscastle twice a day for weeks after the flood." Hundreds of homes were badly damaged and about 1,000 trees were toppled by the tornado which tore through south Birmingham at speeds of about 130mph.

Currently the bill for repairs stands at about £40 million, most of which is being met by Birmingham City Council.

Mrs Gaskell added: "It cost £50 million to rebuild Boscastle after last year's floods so it seems odd that the Government has not stepped in here to help meet these costs."

The couple spoke to Balsall Heath residents at a meeting arranged by the World Wildlife Fund to highlight its on- line petition urging Prime Minister Tony Blair to introduce climate change legislation.

Sam Durham, the charity's regional campaigns officer, said: "I believe global warming played a part in creating the conditions which led to these two natural disasters, which is why we need Tony Blair to bring in a law to tackle climate change.

"Otherwise we can expect to see incidents like these more often, and probably on a bigger scale."

Another resident at the meeting, May Pearson, said the July twister brought back vivid memories of a tornado which struck Small Heath in

1931.

The 84-year-old, who lives in Balsall Heath, said: "I remember my mother came to pick me up from Sunday School because it was raining but the sky was black and I heard this enormous roar, like a train was going through a station, but I had no idea what was happening.

"Trees came down and slates were blown off the roofs of a few houses, it was like nothing I had seen before.

"This time I was sat in my front room and noticed the birds were going crazy, then the sky went black and I heard this howling wind.

"When it had passed I came back through and saw my windows smashed by a slate from another house. If I'd stayed where I was it would have taken my head off."