The phones were 'running red-hot' at insurer Norwich Union in the wake of the Great Storm of 1987.

Extra phone lines were opened at NU branches across the south and east of England to deal with a flood of cries for help following the worst storm to hit Britain in 500 years.

The NU's staff newspaper reported after the storm that one farmer had a building worth £13,800 'in an equivalent number of bits,' while another person had wondered around his neighbourhood looking for a missing shed.

Bill Henson, assistant branch manager at NU's Norwich office, said the team there had answered 750 calls by 4pm on October 17, after the brunt of the storm had struck. He said the main problems were roof damage and damage from trees, but they also expected quite a few freezer claims.

He also said staff were coping well but a computer breakdown exacerbated the problems.