The owners of the Castle Beach Café on Falmouth seafront hope it will be “up and running” by summer after storm damage caused the building to be demolished.

Jayne and Steve Gray were given clearance by their insurer to knock down the building after the front wall was smashed in by rough seas in February, and hope that they will be able to start rebuilding work within a month.

Jayne said: “We’ll rebuild it but we need to go through the proper channels, so it will be about four weeks.

“Hopefully we’re not going to have an outdoor store room, we’ll have the whole thing rebuilt in a rectangle, which might help make it secure for future storms. I don’t know how long it will take, I would like to think it will be up and running by the summer.”

The couple remain concerned about the damage which was sustained by the sea wall along the promenade from the cafe, and have alerted Cornwall Council, as they feel that the period before the new café is built would be ideal for any repair work to be carried out.

Jayne said: “Hopefully they’ll see sense and get on while the opportunity is there.”

The insurance company has also agreed to cover all new equipment for the café, as items such as freezers and coffee machines were irreparably damaged by sea water and the force of the waves, which Jayne described as “like a washing machine, with the sand and sea water.”

Jayne said they are also still trying to find information on how to claim the £5,000 repair and renewal grant which the government had promised to businesses affected by the recent storms.

On top of everything else, the couple say someone had broken into the external store room, which was the only part of the building left fully intact by storms, and stolen some damaged wetsuits.

Jayne said: “That was disgusting and disappointing, after all the good wishes that we’ve had.”