TORRENTIAL rain during the weekend left Chris Lovett with more than she bargained for.

TORRENTIAL rain during the weekend left Chris Lovett with more than she bargained for.Walking into the dining area of her new restaurant, Tudors, the former Tudor Rose bar and restaurant in High Street on Monday, she was horrified to step on to sodden carpets, ruined by floodwater which had poured in through the back door."I came in and found it flooded. It was in a bit of a state, a total mess, but we have ripped up the carpet and new carpet should be down by Thursday," said Chris earlier this week."It is a nightmare, I had just got up and running, and everything was perfect.""Things were going so well. In the two weeks I have been open I picked up business and have had lots of local interest. "I have been really lucky with the support I have been receiving. "As a newcomer to the town lots of businesses have been coming in, as well as residents."She closed this week after the flood to be ready for tonight's 6pm official launch.Chris, who has been in the catering industry for 40 years, said: "For the last 10 years I was doing commercial catering at a private school in Hertfordshire. "I decided last September to hand in my notice on a whim with a view that if I didn't work for myself now, it would never happen."I started looking for the right business. I looked at Dorset and Devon because I wanted to live on the south coast."She has gone into partnership with her brother Tony and his wife Annette but will run it herself.She describes Tudors, her first business, as "a hidden gem that opens up before you".