The boat wreck has become a temporary attraction on the beach

The wreck, which disappeared from Bude, is now a temporary attraction for holidaymakers on Coney Beach.

A seven-hour rescue operation involving a RAF helicopter from Chivenor in Devon was launched off Scarweather Sands when the boat was first spotted upturned in the sea.

But it turned out to be the 17ft Lara Jane and Claire.

There were worries that a local angler might have gone overboard.

We were amazed, we didn't think it was possible at first Aileen Jones, Porthcawl RNLI

"When I first put my hand under the waterline I could make out some fishing rods, which were made up with lines and hooks and I was concerned people were trapped underneath," said Porthcawl lifeboatman Paul Eastment.

The boat had been swept from its moorings during the floods, which hit villages, including Boscastle and Bude, 13 days before.

Boat owner Roger Adams, from Bude, said: "It had been spotted afloat off the coast for a couple of days afterwards but I thought it had sunk until my local lifeboat station contacted me and told me what happened."

When the floods hit, the sea conditions at Bude were calm and Mr Adams had been preparing to set out to sea, when he got called in, in his position as auxiliary coastguard.

"That was the last I saw of it," he said.

"We lost a number of boats in Boscastle and Bude and I had done quite a lot of work on mine last winter, but when you take into consideration the damage to homes and businesses and the possessions that were lost, it pales into insignificance really."

The flash floods on 16 August are estimated to have caused millions of pounds of damage, with Boscastle bearing the brunt.

The wreck of the fibreglass boat is to be taken away from the beach, where it has been left since being brought ashore last weekend.

"We were amazed, we didn't think it was possible at first," said Aileen Jones, Porthcawl RNLI helmsperson.

"But when we looked at the charts and saw the flow of the water, it made sense and was less of a surprise."