400,000 maggots rescued

But have you heard the one about the 400,000 maggots that nearly got away in the Great Flood of 2007?

Bosses at fishing supplies business Bennetts on Stanley Street, Sheffield, feared the worst when the company's walk-in maggot fridge became dislodged after a torrent of water hit the store.

The 8ft fridge tipped over and was trapped on an internal drain after the firm near the Wicker filled with water.

Stock was damaged and 17 staff were marooned at the mail order headquarters, when more than four feet of water flowed into the building within half an hour.

But although the fridge had to be scrapped, it remained watertight and the maggots escaped unharmed.

Managing director Harry Peck, said: "We thought we had lost our entire stock of maggots but fortunately when we opened up the fridge they were all still alive."

The company was back up and trading 10 days after the disaster.

Mr Peck thanked insurers NIG for acting quickly.

"We have been in this business for over 50 years and we are very proud of our reputation with customers and suppliers alike.

"The most important thing for us was to keep our reputation intact and trade again within two weeks."

The premises are still drying out but new stock has been delivered to replace damaged items and the company is trading as normal.

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