A Sussex school devastated by violent floods is suing its insurers - claiming wrong advice left it £110,335 out of pocket.

Independent primary Lewes New School had only been open a few weeks when it was swamped by a torrent of water during the floods of October 2000.

Classrooms were flooded by water more than 50cm deep, forcing teachers and the 34 pupils to abandon the buildings at Talbot Terrace.

Temporary classrooms were later installed.

The school was among hundreds of homes and businesses swamped as the River Ouse burst its banks and flooded the town.

Many people were rescued by boat, with some climbing out of first-storey windows to escape the rising waters.

The worst floods in living memory, they caused damage totalling millions of pounds in the town.

Insurance claims poured in from hundreds of people whose homes or businesses were devastated.

Several people were hurt when part of the Harveys brewery in the waterlogged part of town collapsed.

Lewes New School's owners claim they were incorrectly advised about the level of insurance cover they would need to meet the cost of repairs following such a disaster.

They say the school was insured for £565,312 with the Ecclesiastical Insurance Group but the insurers claim it should have been covered for £970,000.

Consequently, they only paid £291,000 of the school's claim of £401,335 after the flooding.

The school's owners, Lewes New School Ltd, have now lodged a writ in the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court against their broker George Baker (Insurance Brokers) of Richmond Parade, Brighton.

They are claiming £110,335 damages - the difference between these figures - for the advice received.

They say they have also incurred legal and surveyors' costs and also want to be paid interest.

The writ alleges broker Paul Jackson told the school's Miranda Wilson-Lasalle that it should be insured for £565,312, based on the purchase price of the premises, square footage, age of buildings, materials and its Grade II listed status.

The writ, drafted by solicitors Adams & Remers for the school, states: "The defendant failed properly to carry out any research or investigation or to seek expert advice from any source as to the appropriateness of that figure."

It continues: "The figure of £565,312 was wrong and was a figure given by the defendant without exercise of reasonable skill and care, and negligently, and the defendant has failed to advise the claimant with proper skill and care.

"As appears from the Ecclesiastical Insurance Group proposal form, the sum that ought to have been stated for the buildings cover was the full rebuilding cost, including allowance for VAT, architects and surveyors' fees, legal charges, debris removal and the requirements of the local authority.

"The claimant contends the correct figure for buildings cover, and the figure that the defendant ought accordingly to have advised it to have sought for cover, was £970,000.

"Had the defendant advised that the correct figure for buildings cover was £970,000, the claimant would have insured for that figure."

No one from the school was available for comment.

The managing director of George Baker (Insurance Brokers) Ltd was on holiday yesterday and nobody else was able to comment.