Devastated Sean: 'Power of the Bay spirit will help us bounce back'

Devastated beach cafe owner Sean White has been 'completely overwhelmed by the 'power' of Torbay's community spirit after his business was washed away by Storm Babet and they came to his aid.
Two shipping containers comprising the SOAK coffee bar on Torquay seafront fell victim to the storm's giant waves.
One ended up in the ocean, the other badly damaged as Sean, renowned locally for putting the Bay on the map as a standup paddle boarding and sea-sports venue, could only stand and watch.
But within hours crane drivers, friends and dozen of volunteers came to the rescue to help with recovery and a clean up of Torre Abbey Sands.
A GoFundMe page was also set up to help Sean back on his feet an within days was heading towards the £12,000 mark.
Sean vowed to bounce, thanking the community for their support.
He said: "W|e have lost everything but the most important thing is nobody was hurt. The support has been the most overwhelming experience I have ever experienced.
"We have established communities all over the South West. By 100 miles the one in Torbay has come together in a way I have never experienced. It is powerful.
"The local authority, coastguards, friends, everybody, the compassion has been completely overwhelming. Without all the compassion and love this moment would have been even more brutal.We have received thousands of messages of support."
He admitted the mistake was not anticipating the actual power of the storm. He said: "We were not the only ones. Beach huts were destroyed over at Goodrington. The information that we had and all the weather charts did not account for the extra one metre storm surge. We thought we were going to be okay,"
But he vowed: "We will bounce back. We are already talking about we can move the money that has been raised back into the community."
The fund-raising link is here https://www.gofundme.com/f/get-soak-back-on-their-sups?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=social&utm_source=instagram_story