When the flood waters swept through the premises of Hanover Displays in Lewes, the company lost its entire computer records.

Back-up disks full of vital information on products and clients were carefully packed in a fireproof safe, but on this occasion it was not flames that posed a threat.

Ben Richardson, IT manager at the company which manufactures electronic destination signs for public transport, said they were desperate to recover software developed at the firm.

He knew specialist companies existed and used the web from his home PC to track down Vogon, a specialist in retrieving data from damaged systems.

Stuart Booth, data recovery manager for Vogon, said: "The process involves carefully cleaning the computer storage media before using specialised hardware, software and recovery techniques to access the media and read the data."

Much to Mr Richardson's relief, the precious information has been saved and the company is now back in business on higher ground on the Cliffe Industrial Estate.

Also back in business but looking very different after the deluge is fire protection firm Pyrotec, based on the Caburn Enterprise Park in Ringmer.

At the time of the flood, the company's management decided there would never be a better time to improve its image with new colours, livery, staff uniforms, vans and stationery.

Now, with its new image, the company is up to strength.

Pyrotec provides and services extinguishers and fire alarms and offers staff fire training to businesses up and down the country.

The company has a staff of 20 and a turnover in excess of £1.5million.