Entrepreneurs in the Co Down town are desperate for government support following the catastrophic floodwaters that have decimated their livelihoods..

Ciara Douglas owns children’s clothing shop Making Memories For You, which has experienced upwards of £25,000 of water damage.

She has called on Northern Ireland’s Assembly to “get together” now to help her and fellow townspeople.

“The monkeys that are sitting on the hill haven’t a clue what they’re doing,” the Communion dress retailer told Sunday Life.

“Get together – this is your country and these are your people, you are watching us sink, you are watching our businesses go down.

“Where do they think the economy is going to go after this? It’ll be in the gutter. People in this town won’t have money to spend. If politicians don’t do something, Downpatrick will turn into a ghost town.”

Community spirit in Downpatrick has not dampened with the deluge of water though, with cafes providing free refreshments to those helping in the weekend’s clean-up efforts, and volunteers “coming out the woodwork”, according to Paul McCartan, who runs two family businesses in the town.

McCartan Sports and McCartan Footwear have served the community for nearly 100 years, and Paul said it “was quite emotional” to see the support from members of the public on Saturday.

“We were going to assess the damage and not necessarily do anything, and then suddenly one tradesman appeared, and another one, and another.

“They were advising me that carpets had to come up right away, fixed units and fixed wall displays all had to come out, the whole building needed stripped back to a shell and it’s all out now. They gave us professional advice and did it all for us.

“A retired GP came and I thought she was going to put her back out helping and council workers just devoted their time to us.”

McCartan Footwear opened in 1926 and is now being run by the third generation within the family, while the sportswear business opened in 1987.

Paul added: “The big thing now is that we need government support because we haven’t got flood cover in either shop.

“Everything we’ve done in business, we’ve done it ourselves and we’ve never gotten a handout, but unfortunately now we need one.

“Chris Hazzard (MP for South Down) is heading to London on Monday to meet the Secretary of State to fight our corner and Newry’s, but it’s going to take a lot of money to put things right.”

Newry, Kilkeel and Portadown were also badly affected following the heavy rain earlier this week.

Water levels in most areas are receding and recovery and clean-ups are under way in Newry and other locations.

Floodwater within Downpatrick’s town centre has been successfully removed from Market Street on Saturday, and the NI Fire and Rescue Service has ceased pumping, although many areas are still essentially underwater, including the Ballydugan Retail Park.

Sinn Féin, SDLP and Alliance politicians have urged Chris Heaton-Harris to visit flooded areas and move to provide financial aid for businesses with damaged properties.

A Northern Ireland Office spokesperson said: “The UK Government is in close contact with the Northern Ireland Civil Service regarding the severe flooding across the region.

“Whilst this is a devolved matter for the relevant NI departments, we will continue to work closely with the NI Civil Service in the days ahead.”