THE summer of 2007 will live long in the county's memory, with thousands of people affected by downpours which saw two months' rainfall in just one day.

Now, three months on from the worst floods for several generations, the resilience of Herefordians is shining through with businesses, schools and homes returning to normal.

The village of Hampton Bishop was virtually cut off from the rest of the county by the rising floodwater.

Efforts to evacuate residents from their homes saw the use of helicopters and countless emergency service crews working all weekend.

One of the most taxing jobs was rescuing the 32 residents and staff from Hampton House Residential Home.

"It really upset some, but others saw it as quite an adventure," said Jenny Bates, manager of the home.

"Our lift was damaged and was out of order until about a fortnight ago.

"The staff were brilliant though and helped a great deal. Thankfully, everything's fine and back to normal now."

Across the road at the Bunch of Carrots public house, owner Tom Wortley is breathing a sigh of relief as the pub's renowned carvery was able to trade last Friday for the first time since the deluge.

"The bar area was closed for around three-and-a-half-weeks, but our carvery and kitchen equipment was badly damaged.

"The carvery equipment has to be made for us, which is why we haven't been able to re-open until now.

"Takings have been down for around 11 or 12 weeks and we've lost the best part of £100,000 of trade."

Mr Wortley had only taken over the reins at the Bunch of Carrots six weeks before the floods struck.

"Hopefully things will now start to pick up," he added.

Across the county in Eardisley, the floods temporarily shut Karasel Equine Supplies when more than six inches of water flooded the shop in less than 15 minutes. Stock was damaged and the business had to be relocated to Hay-on-Wye - a decision that couldn't have worked out better.

"Business is definitely on the up since we've moved premises and we are taking more than we did before the floods," said owner Ellie Thorneycroft.

"Back in July I was pulling my hair out. But every cloud has a silver lining and, since the move to our bigger premises, things are going really well."

Residents at the picturesque Linton Caravan Park, near Bromyard, are starting to put the summer's events behind them. Those living on the bottom edge of the tiered residential park, close to the River Frome, became surrounded by the floods, with fire service rescue missions needed to evacuate stranded residents.

Kevin Surridge, the site's managing director, said those affected had coped with the situation very well.

"The residents on the park have made a tremendous effort to get things going again.

"We're getting there slowly. The contractors have been in to carry out repairs and the emergency planning department has been a great help."

It's a similar picture at Lucksall Caravan Park, between Mordiford and Fownhope, where site manager Karen Matthews said they were trading again within just a couple of days of the July deluge.

Schools were also affected during the downpour, with Bosbury Primary School one of Herefordshire's worst affected. Floodwater ripped through the building, with every room left underwater.

"Thankfully now, everything's back to normal," said headteacher Liz Farr. "The insurance has paid for refurbishment works, and the staff worked hard to get things ready for the start of term."