It has been torrential - really, really heavy rain and storms with water running down the village Margaret Hunter

RAF Kinloss spokesman Michael Mulford said the incident was the biggest the service had been involved in for many years.

He told reporters: "It is very seldom we have more than two helicopters at one scene. To get seven is remarkable."

And he added that up to 1,000 more people may have to be airlifted out of Boscastle.

So far 60 villagers and visitors have been rescued from the popular resort and have been taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro to be treated for minor injuries and shock.

The owner of Boscastle's Tintagel Arms Hotel, Margaret Hunter, said she had been "amazed" at the volume of rain.

"It has been torrential - really, really heavy rain and storms with water running down the village," she said.

Ben Wassell, from Kent, told the BBC News website his brother and his wife had been staying in a holiday cottage in Boscastle and had only just escaped before the flood water rose to high.

"All their possessions were washed away, but they are both fine," he said.

Police confirmed that three people earlier classified as missing had now been found, but said it was not easy to establish if any more were unaccounted for.

Superintendent Jon Wotton from Devon and Cornwall police said the rescue operation would continue into the night.

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