A top training school for beauticians has been forced to move after being swamped by the floods.

Erika Oswin, principal of the Oxford International College of Beauty in Witney, saw her High Street premises overrun by two feet of water.

She said: We were forced to close down - I had been in Witney for 27 years and have never seen anything like it before. It was devastating.

"All the classrooms were under water and we had to move everything upstairs."

The floods struck a huge blow for the college which was expanding rapidly, attracting students from as far afield as Holland, Nigeria and the United States.

Fortunately Ms Oswin had already identified larger premises to cope with demand. But the floods mean she must bring forward plans to move as she looks to salvage the business.

The move is costing Ms Oswin about £60,000 as she rushes to prepare the new building in Witan Way in time for the new term, which starts on September 10.

Repairs to the old premises are likely to run into tens of thousands of pounds.

But she is determined that the business will be able to pick up where it left off.

The aim is to grow the number of students from 60 to 80 a year and four new staff have been recruited - taking the rota to 12.

Ms Oswin ran a hair and beauty salon in 1980 before moving into teaching, setting up the college 10 years later.

The college is one of only 13 beauty training schools in the UK - and the only one in Oxfordshire - that teaches the Comite International D'Esthetique et de Cosmetologie, the world's leading beauty therapy qualification.

And while the move is going on, Ms Oswin is taking inquiries from potential students across the globe.

She said: "Luckily I have got a brilliant team who have been working their socks off."