Yesterday, stacks of books and boxes of puzzles could be seen lining the street outside the the Downtown Book Exchange in Princes St after water damaged much of the store’s stock.
Downtown Book Exchange owner Sharon Sculpher said she could not believe the sight she saw when she first walked through the doors.
"Books were just soaked. Water was pouring down. It was a huge mess and absolute disaster."
She believed the frosty morning may have led to a pipe above the flat on top of the shop bursting.
Both the flat and the store were significantly water damaged.
Yesterday, Ms Sculpher spent the day sorting water-logged books from the salvageable stock, and figuring out what to do about the damage.
There was water the dripping from the roof and pooling on the floor, leaving books, DVDs and puzzles sodden.
She did not know how many books she had, and how many would need to be binned, but she had long ago run out of shelf space leading to pillars of books being stacked on the ground.
Ms Sculpher said she might have to source a skip to deal with the mess as "a wheelie bin would not do".
"The water’s on the Mills and Boons. Some of those are going to have to go."
Ms Sculpher said the store would be closed until further notice as she dealt with her insurance company, working out what needed to be fixed and, sorting what stock was salvageable.
