Taste Cumbria will go ahead in Cockermouth this weekend 

Latest:  Keswick School will be open tomorrow, Wednesday December 9. The water supply has been restored and water pressure is back to normal.  

• Welfare hubs have been set up in Cockermouth and Keswick to help communities hit by the floods, and a third is due to open in Flimby tomorrow.

Specialist officers from the county council and Allerdale council are out in the Aspatria, Cockermouth, Flimby, Keswick, Maryport, Wigton and Workington areas to offer practical on-the-spot advice to residents and businesses.

The two hubs have been set up with the county council and community organisations and are open from 9am to 5pm. They are at:

Christ Church, Sullart Street and Christ Church Rooms, South Street, Cockermouth

Packhorse Inn, Packhorse Court, Keswick

An advice centre will also be opened in Flimby from tomorrow from 10am in the old Methodist Chapel, West Lane.

Anyone in need of help or advice, or those simply wanting somewhere warm and dry to get food, drinks and company, is welcome.

They will be able to speak to council officers who can offer advice on environmental health, social services, housing, property services, benefits, homelessness and health, as well as council tax and business rate discounts.

The centres also include representatives from other authorities and housing associations, and people will be also be able to do practical things like charge their mobile phones or pick up advice leaflets which show them what to do next.

Teams will also be out on the streets offering advice to those in need on issues like environmental health and dangerous structures.

Because fewer properties are flooded out in Workington, council officers are going door-to-door to ensure that every resident or business receives support.

The RNLI sent this video of crew rescuing people in Cockermouth:

Roads update, Tuesday December 8:

The following roads are closed:

• A591 Chestnut Hill to Dunmail Raise
• A5271 Greta Bridge, Keswick
• B5289 Borrowdale Valley
• C2058 Stair bridge to Swinside Newlands Valley
• A5086 - Gote Bridge Cockermouth
• Cockermouth Main Street 
• A591 Keswick to Bothel 
• Hall Brow, Workington 
• B5292 Braithwaite
• U1140 Bell Bridge
• C2027 Southwaite Mill 

Roads open: 

• B5322 St Johns in the Vale - passable with care 
• B5291 Ouse Bridge - open 
• B5289 Low Lorton - open 
• U4287 - Brundle Home road Keswick - open 
• A591 - Castle Inn to A66, Keswick - open
• A596 Lawson Street, Aspatria - open 
• B5301 Arkleby Mill Bridge, Aspatria 
• U2081 Blennerhasset/Baggrow
• C2002 Westnewton to Aspatria 

At a meeting last night, traders agreed that the town would continue with its plans for the Christmas version of the  popular event. 

Organisers cnevents said: "We are delighted to do our bit by making Taste Cumbria fabulous this weekend.

"As well as our traditional stalls we will also be hosting traders whose businesses have been affected."

Traders are asked to email Anna.lyttle@cnmedia.co.uk to book a stall.

A post on Facebook from the town's Coffee Kitchen said: "Tell you what? Cockermouth - eh? Taste Cumbria? Brilliant. Cumbria once again says to the elements 'Is that all you've got?'"

Traders in the town are all planning to be open this week and Keswick bosses are busy telling everyone that their town is open. 

Meanwhile, the Prince’s Countryside Fund announced that it is releasing £40,000 from its emergency fund to support rural communities, farmers and businesses affected by the flooding.

The Prince’s Countryside Fund will work alongside The Prince’s Business Emergency Resilience Group (BERG), an initiative of Business in the Community to support the communities affected and assist in their recovery longer-term.

In total £30,000 will be donated to fund the Farming Help Charities to help farmers and rural communities in the area and to provide immediate financial assistance.

Cumbria Community Foundation will receive £10,000 who will be working with voluntary organisations to provide initial hardship grants of £500 to local people affected by the floods.

Allerdale council workers spent all of yesterday collecting debris and rubbish from flood-affected areas across the borough. 

Traffic is building up across West Cumbria this morning, due to diversions and road closures. 

Police estimate that up to 720 properties have been flooded in West Cumbria over the weekend. 

They have released estimated figures giving the "most likely" number and the "worst case" number as follows: 

Keswick & Braithwaite - most likely: 290, worst case number 500.

Cockermouth: most likely: 400, worst case: 700. Workington: most likely: 20. 

Aspatria: most likely 10.

They stress that the numbers are not definite as properties are still being assessed. 

LATEST: 

A llerdale council has moved its flood reception centre in Keswick.  

It was at St Herbert’s School, Trinity Way and has now been moved to The Pack Horse Inn, Pack Horse Court Keswick.

Cockermouth reception centre at the Eco Centre at Cockermouth School, Castlegate Drive, remains open at this time.

Keswick School will remain closed tomorrow but staff hope it will reopen on Wednesday

Station Road, Aspatria, is closed in both directions between the Comely Bank junction of the B5301 and the A595 junction at Blindcrake.

The B5289 on High Hill, Keswick, is blocked in both directions between the A66 junction and the Church Lane junction.

Borrowdale Road, Keswick, is blocked in both directions at the Borrowdale Road junction of the B5289.

£300, 455.49 raised by Cumbria Community Foundation's Cumbria 2015 Flood Appeal

St Bridget's School, Brigham, will reopen on Wednesday 

Lillyhall's UTC will be open as usual 

Wigton's Nelson Thomlinson School is open

Gote Bridge in Cockermouth closed, requires inspection 

A66 is open

West Cumberland Hospital - if you have an outpatients appointment or an endoscopy or chemotherapy appointment, please attend as normal. If you have an appointment for day case or inpatient surgery tomorrow, the trust will be contacting individuals to let them know the situation as soon as possible.

Outpatients appointments cancelled at the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle 

If you have a chemotherapy or endoscopy appointment please attend as normal and if you have an appointment for day case or inpatient surgery, the trust will be contacting individuals to let them know the situation as soon as possible.

Cockermouth's Low Road still closed

Floods minister Rory Stewart was in Cockermouth last night to see the devastation of Storm Desmond. 

He was invited by Workington MP Sue Hayman.

She said: "The Government needs to hear first-hand from local people about what happened this time and in 2009 so they can work out exactly what has gone so wrong.

"Mr Stewart, the floods minister and Penrith MP, with senior Environment Agency officials, spent several hours talking to local people who have been flooded, to police and fire officers and to Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team, and we visited the flooded James Walker factory."

More heavy rain is forecast over the next few days. 

More than £300,000 has been raised by Cumbria Community Foundation's Cumbria Flood Appeal, set up to help flood victims. 

To find out more,  click here.  

Police are advising people in Cockermouth not to return home yet. 

Water still remains covering Cockermouth Main Street and the streets towards the River Derwent. 

There is water at the Derwentside Gardens, Wakefield Road and Gote Road areas, from several inches to several feet deep. 

The area of St Leonard’s Lane is particularly affected. 

A police spokesman said: "While in places the water isn’t particularly deep, the water within the whole of the
flooded area is flowing very fast. 

"As such there is a significant risk of people being swept off their feet even in water that is not very deep." 

He added police and rescue services were aware that some residents still remained within the flooded areas and business and home owners who have previously left the area are keen to check on their property. 

Inspector Craig Lory said: "The advice is not to return to the flooded areas at this stage. 

For residents still in their houses, in flooded areas, you are asked to remain in your houses and not to venture into the floods. 

"Rescue services are able to get to everyone if needs be. But if there is an emergency or a need to be evacuated can residents call the emergency services in the first instance, or draw attention to themselves from within their houses, by shouting from windows, only venturing into places that are clearly safe." 

Workington MP Sue Hayman has been visiting Cockermouth this morning to talk to people affected and assess the damage. 

She said: "I’m completely devastated for all these people who have been so badly affected again.

"I have got some good friends with properties they cannot get to.

"I’m just trying to get my head around exactly what has happened.

"I have to ask some serious questions and find out what went wrong again this time.

"I shall talk to the emergency services and find out what we need to do.

"We have to have some serious help to deal with this. 

"We also need another assessment as to how we step up flood defences."

More than 30 people are trapped in a hotel as Cockermouth town centre sits under 3ft of water. 

About 32 people are thought to be in the Trout Hotel, where there are reports that water is going up the stairs. 

They will be rescued tomorrow

A string of rescues have taken place in the town throughout today and are continuing this evening. Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team leader Mike Park said: "The team was called at 8am. We have been working in conjunction with police, ambulance, fire and rescue, coastguard teams and every mountain rescue team in the county plus some others from elsewhere. 

"We have been evacuating people and dealing with swift water rescue incidents across the county. 

"Water has breached the defences in Cockermouth and Keswick so we have been taking people out of their homes. We have also had to deal with the consequences of what’s going on in the valleys, on the roads. 

"Cockermouth Main Street is still under three foot of water. 

"We have evacuated homes in Derwent Mills, Gote Road, High Sands Lane and Low Sands Lane, Waterloo Street, Challoner Street and Rubbybanks. 

Some people have chosen to stay in their flooded properties. We are still evacuating homes now. 

"There has been significant flooding in Cockermouth but I do not think we have had as many flooded properties as in 2009. 

"The emergency services have learned a lot from previous occasions so the whole operation has been running smoothly. 

"Our thoughts are with all the people whose homes have flooded." 

Meanwhile, residents of Hall Brow in Workington saw their gardens ruined as they tried to fight off persistent floodwater.

Heavy rain throughout today forced some to put up gates while others were forced to move items to the upstairs rooms of their homes. 

Carole Holloway, 56, is a survivor of the 2009 floods and her garden has now flooded twice in the space of two days. 

She said: "I'm stressed with it at the minute and I've locked the back door. With the water being saturated it has nowhere to go. It was just a shock. We're still living in a house of mess from 2009." 

In Flimby, Carol Tindall, who lives on Westfield View, left her home to stay with a friend after water ravaged her house and wrote off her car on Thursday night. 

She said: "From being dry to water three feet high the other night was 17 minutes exactly so I'm not sure there's much you can do." 

West Cumbria has been left reeling from the effects of Storm Desmond, which has ravaged towns and villages across the area. 

Flood defences in Keswick were breached first, as water poured over the glass blocks along the River Greta, put in place after the 2009 floods. 

All roads into the town were blocked and police were advising motorists not to drive unless absolutely neccessary. 

Some floods victims have become casualties for a third time as defences designed to hold back a one-in-100-year flood were over-topped. 

A number of those affected in Keswick are thought to be among those who suffered serious flood damaged in 2005 and 2009. 

They had hoped to never again fall victim after hugely-improved flood defences were completed in 2012. 

But they have after wet weather saw hundreds of properties in the town affected and a serious of dramatic rescues from flood-hit and risk properties taking place. Water was also over the footbridge in Fitz Park, while a footbridge near Braithwaite also collapse. 

Adrian Holme, of Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, was one of the emergency commanders in the town. 

He said: "The events are devastating and unprecedented. 

"The defences built in 2012 have been topped. We've had 24 hoursof constant rain. 

"I'd like to pay tribute to all the emergency services who have worked hard to protect properties. 

"This is devastating for Keswick. There are hundreds of properties devastated by flooding. 

"Some of these people have been flooded three times now. Your heart really goes out to them." 

A large number of properties have been deluged by waters after the River Eden burst its banks. Cockermouth followed at about 6.30pm when its defences were breached and water flowed into the town, leaving Main Street.