Mr. James Perry of the village Traders' Association believes most businesses will be in operation by Friday and the remainder by Saturday.

He said: "I would firstly like to thank the Times for the coverage included in this week's edition of the newspaper. I think it gave a very good coverage of the impact which last week's events had on the village.

"The good news this weekend is that ALL businesses are open again. The traders apreciate the help they have received from the various service organisations and agencies as well as the support shown by so many people in the village.

"This has been a very difficult week for many people - both businesses and private residents - who were affected by last week's flash floods. It is a tremendous achievement, considering the extent of the damage caused, that so much has been done in such a short time to allow business life to return to normal.

"The traders apologise for the inconvenience caused to customers but look forward to welcoming everyone back."


BUSINESS people in Ahoghill said it was 'utterly impossible' to save their premises from the deluge which swept into the Diamond on Saturday evening.

At one point the water was chest deep, pouring into shops on either side of the lower section of the Diamond.

Ahoghill man Kenny Allen, who captured some striking images of the disaster, said it reminded him of 'something from the third world'.

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"People were trying their best to help but it was all too much. The water was deep enough to swim in - I don't think anyone in this village has ever seen a scene remotely like it.

"You've got to feel sorry for the shopowners. Times are tough enough without this kind of thing happening," he said.

Pastor Jeff Wright echoed these sentiments as he viewed the clean-up operation continuing on Monday morning.

"I've been around Ahoghill all my life and this was something totally new. It was like a lake on Saturday evening," he said. "Your heart goes out to these people."

The strain of the weekend's events was clearly etched on the faces of staff and shopowners as they struggled to cope with the devastation.

John Scott, fiancee of hair stylist Julie Young, recalled how a river of water raged down Brook Street, engulfing all in its path.

"We were told at the time that some material had blocked a drain further up Brook Street at the Church car park. The water was just flowing over the top of the high wall and nothing could cope with that volume ... everyone was just caught by surprise. The water was up to your waist and higher before anything could be done.

"The amazing thing is that once the drains were cleared, the water subsided in 20 minutes. But by that time the whole place was wrecked."
John showed us the interior of his fiancee's premises where stormwater flooded into the basement beneath the timber floor.

"We've just has to rip it all out and we're waiting on building control to come and give us their advice," he said.

Like many others, John appealed for clear and concise action from relevant authorities to help those affected.

"Up to now we've been making all the calls to the various agencies - what people need is someone on the spot to tell us where to go from here. No-one has ever faced anything like this around here and we're more or less trying to work things out for ourselves."