RESIDENTS RETURN TO FLOOD-HIT COCKERMOUTH
Residents and business owners are returning to their flood-damaged properties in Cockermouth, Cumbria, as more heavy rain is set to hit the region.The local business community is determined to get back on track after Friday's severe floods forced mass evacuations from the town.

But more wet and windy weather is expected to hit the North West, Scotland and West Wales tomorrow, likely to cause further disruption and hamper the clean-up effort.

The Met Office has issued a severe weather watch for these areas and is predicting peak rainfall of 70-100mm (2.75-4 inches) and a risk of 60-65mph gusts.

Main Street, in the centre of Cockermouth, was reopened this morning and saw devastated residents and shop owners return to assess the damage.



Mother-of-one Natalia Ekarad, 28, returned to her home to find her kitchen and lounge had been ruined by the flood.

She said: "We have been here two years and were so happy. Now everything is gone.

"My husband and my nine-month-old baby have not come back yet - they are still at a rest centre - and I was dreading coming here today.

"I just cannot believe it. I have no idea what we will do."



Many business owners stood in the street in a state of shock, gazing at their ruined properties.

An emotional Elaine Oxon, owner of fashion store Westmidges in Main Street, said she had lost her entire stock.

"I was very nervous about coming back, we have just celebrated 12 months here and it was our first venture," she said.

"The smell is absolutely horrendous, it might be contaminated.

"We may never be able to open again and I feel like giving up. Everything is ruined."

In addition to the expected rain, thousands of people in Cumbria have been warned they could be cut off for months as fears grow over the structure of the Calva Bridge in Workington.

The main deck of the bridge - the only remaining link between the north and south of the town - has sunk by around 30cm (12in) following last week's unprecedented downpour.



While the bridge remains closed, residents are being forced to make a 17.5-mile detour to cross the river.

Twenty-five soldiers from 39 Regiment the Royal Artillery have been sent to flood-hit areas to assist the emergency services, as teams of engineers continue to survey 1,800 bridges across the county.

Meanwhile, a search has resumed for a 21-year-old woman believed to have been swept away by a storm-swollen river.

The woman went in to the River Usk near Watergate Bridge in Brecon, mid-Wales, on Saturday evening.

Fire brigades and mountain rescue teams, on foot and in kayaks and a helicopter, searched a mile-long stretch of fast-flowing water yesterday.

A police officer died on Friday when the Northside Bridge in Workington, Cumbria, collapsed and a canoeist died in a flooded river on the River Dart near Newton Abbot, Devon, on Saturday.


Last Updated: 2009-11-23 15:10:13

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