Businesses and residents are still counting the cost of devastating floods which surged through a seaside town centre a week ago.

Many premises still reek of the sewage-infested floodwater which affected up to 40 firms and dozens of homes in central Hastings including the town hall.

It is estimated that the final bill will run to hundreds of thousands of pounds as residents and business owners assess the damage.

Many want Southern Water to foot their repair bills after the company said it believed a mechanical failure at its Coombes pumping station was at fault.

Yet so far there have been no firm guarantees that the company will compensate victims.

Pratibha Paleja, 49, who runs the Smokemart Cutprice newsagent, said: "We are still trying to tidy up but there is so much to do. We've noticed that since this has happened, business has been a lot quieter.

"I wonder whether people are being put off from coming here because of the smell or whether they think we are closed. Either way it is not good.

"We have had the heater on to dry things out and we have used detergent thoroughly to try to get rid of the smell. But it still stinks. We don't yet know how much all the damage is going to cost but maybe it will be £10,000. We have to replace so many things.

"Southern Water has sent round a loss adjustor and we said we would be making a claim against them for all the damage caused.

"But he said that it would be a painfully slow process to claim through them and that we should claim from our own insurers.

"But the problem is that with my insurance policy, I am liable to pay the first £5,000 from any claim.

"On top of all these problems, my £30,000 four-wheel drive car broke down because of the flooding and we are facing extra expenses for that."

Eamon O'Connor, landlord of the nearby Clarence pub, fears his trade has been irreparably damaged by the floods.

Several feet of water gushed into his cellar, ruining beer and machinery running into tens of thousands of pounds.

Firefighters spent a day pumping the water out but Mr Connor says he might not be able to reopen again until next week.

He said: "The damage here must run to £30,000-plus. The brewery is still charging me rent so that has to be paid.

"Plus I have lost two weeks of trade and £5,000-plus in stock and machinery. The cellar is going to have to be decontaminated and I don't know if I'm going to lose custom over this.

"People might not want to come back after this."

Yesterday a Southern Water spokeswoman said the company has visited all customers who were affected and advised them to contact their insurers who in turn should contact Southern Water's loss adjustors.

Hastings and Rye Labour MP Michael Foster has written to Southern Water asking why the flood happened and to seek assurances that measures are in place to avoid a repeat.