Flood-hit Lewes was today named among the most profitable towns in Britain.

It leapt from 402nd place in a national survey last year to a position in the top ten, according to information services company Experian.

The report looked into the average profit margin of businesses across the country from 1999 to 2000.

It found companies in Lewes had increased their profitability from less than one per cent to nearly 16 per cent, more than three times the national average.

Sussex was unique in having have two towns in the top ten, with Worthing taking the top spot and Lewes coming in at number six.

Lewes MP Norman Baker said it was 'odd' that in a year of such devastation the survey should show such a massive improvement of fortunes.

He said: "We have got a number of very successful businesses in Lewes. A lot of people here are very inventive entrepreneurs.

"But the fact of the matter is that half of our business community was flooded out and the other half has suffered as a consequence.

"Lewes is picking itself up very successfully but the town is struggling at the moment and we are having to manage a regeneration programme without any Government help."

A spokeswoman for Experian said the profit margin results were only counted up to August 2000.

Bill Inman, marketing manager of Harvey and Son brewery on Cliffe High Street, said the floods meant Lewes would hold nowhere near as high a position in next year's survey.

He said: "The floods bashed us hard and many shops on the High Street still haven't opened their doors yet.

"It will take a lot to recover from the blow, but I think the town will regain its position again in the future."

Tim Maskell, are director for Sussex Enterprise, said: "These figures have been produced prior to the floods, but they do demonstrate that Lewes was a vibrant business community before the flooding, which shows how important it is to get the town back to where it was before."

A Lewes Council spokeswoman said: "Lewes is an attractive centre for many small businesses with its historic situation as county town for Sussex and its links with the port of Newhaven, as well as the rural villages around. It is ideally suited for companies."

Many of the towns included in the survey suffered a slump between 1999 and 2000, which experts believe will deepen over the coming months.

Even top town Worthing actually suffered a drop in profit margins from almost 26 per cent to less than 23 per cent.

The report claims the average profit margin of businesses in the nation's 430 towns and cities has fallen from 6.23 per cent in 1999 to 5.96 per cent in 2000.

The survey showed that most of the top 50 towns in Britain are concentrated in the south of England, with 11 in the South East.