THE Boat House Gift Shop and Gallery are some of the first independent shops in Monmouth to re-open following the flooding of Storm Claudia

The shops, located on Monnow Street and at The Oldway Centre were both badly hit by the floods but are now back up and running thanks to the hard work of owner Jenny Chuter and a team of helpers.

The shops, whch showcase work from local artists from jewellery, paintings, candles and soaps are now looking ahead to Christmas, and are inviting shopper to call in and see the local work on display.

Jenny says she want to thank those who stepped up to help for their tireless work in getting the shops back up and running in a short amount of time.

“By some miracle and with the help from some very kind people we have got the shops up and running , said Jenny.

“I am so grateful to everyone who helped me including the team of artists that we represent. We have eighty different artists that we sell work for and everyone got in touch with me immediately and we put together a plan.

“The help has been absolutely fantastic; we’ve even had a gentleman from Birmingham who saw us on the news on the Sunday morning and got in his van and offered his help all day.

“Thank you to everyone who helped us, we couldn’t have done it without you.

“We realise there are still a lot of shops which are still desperately trying to get back up and running, but we’re all going to rally around and try and get these shops open for Christmas.

“Please keep coming to Monmouth to do your Christmas shopping. Please look after us and shop local,” she added.