A Maryport man who was on the frontline of the rescue operations following the December 2015 floods said he will always treasure the memory of the community spirit.

Nick Hayton, 23, who is a volunteer with Maryport Inshore Rescue, spent five days in a row getting people to safety in Maryport, Flimby, Cockermouth, Penrith and Carlisle.

He said: “When I look back at last year I mostly have good memories of the community support.

“I remember being in Carlisle on the sideline just taking a break and people were bringing us hot drinks and feeding us.

“I saw how strong a community can be.

“Five days in awful weather conditions is a long time and the memory of the hard work is still there but the good memories outweigh that.”


Nick said that following the floods he had the opportunity to meet some of the people he helped.

He added: “When you’re out there you’re focused on the task but seeing that people recognise us and we recognise them is really nice.

“Hearing their stories reminds us of how we helped. We’ve rescued so many people, it’s unbelievable.

“It’s nice for the whole team to meet these people.”

Nick said he hopes a major flooding like last year will never happen again.

He said: “No one wants this to happen again. We’ve had it twice in 10 years and it’s terrible.

“But at the end of the day people need to be prepared.”