In a strange reversal of fortune some of the worst affected recruiters in flood-hit areas have made gains by sourcing the additional staff needed for the clean-up operation.

Julian McFarlane, business development manager at recruitment firm Dutton International, based in the ravaged Meadowhall area of Sheffield, told Recruiter: "The need for additional trades' people required for the clean-up lead to an increase in demand for our services, as the firm's master vendor status for Rotherham City Council also proved helpful."

Dutton was among the recruitment firms who were affected by the recent heavy rains and flooding. Not only did the weather affect business but it took a toll on the agencies' staffs.

During the height of the floods "we ended up with 10 people sleeping in the office. A couple of people had to swim home, but were forced to turn back", said McFarlane. And as water levels rose others trying to get home had to be helped under bridges by way of a 'human chain'.

Some Dutton International staff who "left for home at 2pm returned to seek refuge in the office, although some didn't make it back 'til 10pm", said McFarlane.

"Fortunately, the office itself, is located on a hill and escaped flooding. Another member of staff had to abandon their car, which ended up being looted," he said.

The flooding also caused problems with the power supply, and left the company without telephones.

During the worst of the floods, the office became a focal point for local people, said McFarlane. "It was warm, and we had some electricity, so we ended up feeding people," he said.

But despite the full scale emergency raging around, which led to at least two deaths in the city and which closed the nearby M1 motorway, Dutton was forced into a "fast turnaround" of placements over three days. McFarlane credits his team for their resourcefulness in keeping the business running. For instance, a staff member took a fax machine home where telephone lines still worked, and used it to alert clients and candidates of a mobile telephone number that could be rung to contact the agency.

Jim Wilson, managing director of Stafforce Recruitment, an agency that has branches in flood-struck Rotherham, Sheffield and Doncaster, said : "For the first two days, permanent recruitment hit the floor, because clients were more concerned with mopping out their premises than with recruitment issues."

Wilson estimates that business initially fell by 50% in Rotherham, and Sheffield, with demand for temporary staff also plummeting as companies sent employees home.

Some Staffforce staff were unable to get into their offices. In these cases, employees were either relocated to other offices, or worked from home, he said.

However, after a "couple of days" Wilson said that business picked up as demand from utility companies for industrial staff to help with the clean-up began to kick-in. He added that demand for call centre staff also rose.

In fact, overall, Wilson said that the initial fall-off in business has been matched by the subsequent increase. "Because it's lasted longer", he explains.

Daniella Wilson, contracts manger at List Recruitment in Scunthorpe, said that while her own branch wasn't directly affected, another of the group's offices in Immingham was "three feet under water". This office had previously been used both to interview candidates and for client meetings. These staff were now squeezed uncomfortably into the Scunthorpe office, she said. "Our attention hasn't been fully on the business, because we have had to move people around this building," she admitted.

Other recruiters had a lucky escape. "We were very concerned," said Adrian Head, operations manager at YesRec2Rec, who describes how the river Air rose to only three feet below the company's doors in Broughton Hall, north Yorkshire. "We were ready to lift the computers on to the desks, he said. Contingency plans to switch the company's operations to alternative premises were in place and were ready to be executed, he said.

However, though Head said that many clients have told him that the floods caused "a great deal of disruption with staff taking a lot longer to get into work" he hasn't noticed a drop-off in business. "Clients have contingency plans in place," he explains.

In fact, the bad weather has had its bright side, said Head. "If anything, we have seen an increase in applicants as they are not outside enjoying the sunshine, but inside applying for jobs," he said "When it rains, business is better," he said. Proof indeed that even when the elements are at their worst, a recruiter can count on every cloud to have a silver lining.