Tributes have been paid to the oldest woman rescued from the 2009 floods in Cockermouth following her death at the age of 102.

Mabel Procter became widely recognised after she was captured on camera giving the thumbs up to then Prime Minister Gordon Brown at a refuge centre.

But to many in West Cumbria, Mabel was already well known as a former district nurse and midwife and a committed Christian who had a big heart, a big mind and, despite her age, a busy social calendar.

Friend Audrey Albon said: "One of the things a lot of people were struck by with Mabel was her able mind, how organised she was and the fact she kept a diary. If you wanted to visit her you had to make an appointment. She was always meeting people.

"She was determined but caring. She was extraordinary."

Born in Yorkshire, Miss Procter was brought up by an aunt following the deaths of her parents.

She initially trained as a pastry chef but, when World War Two broke out, she took the opportunity to retrain as a nurse.

Having moved to Cumbria in the 1950s, she worked as a nurse and midwife in Whitehaven and surrounding villages.

Miss Procter, a member of St Bridget's Church at Bridekirk, was living in a ground-floor bedsit in Manor Court when the floods hit in 2009.

Mrs Albon's husband Chris said she was not downcast by the experience, choosing instead to chat to people and share her faith.

He added: "She coped very well for a lady of her age. She had about four moves before she finally got resettled."

In 2012 Miss Procter officially opened Bridge End Court, a new housing scheme for over 55s, built on the site of Manor Court.

She lived there until February 2014, when she moved to Holmewood care home on Lamplugh Road, where she celebrated her 100th birthday that May.

Her niece Linda Hinchliffe, of Australia, visited for the occasion and the pair were in twice-weekly phone contact.

Nan Wilson became a lifelong friend after Miss Procter delivered her first child around 60 years ago.

She said: "She was a very good midwife. She was strict but she was quite kindly.

"Since then she's come to my house every week. She was a very interesting and very feisty lady."

Friend Mary Stothard added: "She was a great Christian. She was always involved in the church and lots of pastoral things. She loved to be out."

In a mark of how organised she was, Miss Procter had detailed her own funeral years ahead of her death on February 11.

Honouring one of her requests, former Bridekirk vicar the Rev Isobel Halsall returned to the church to conduct the service on Tuesday to a packed church of mourners.

She said: "She was an amazing person, someone with a great Christian faith and an alertness of mind with a lovely sense of humour.

"Through her long life she was an example to us all of tenacity and keeping going even when times were hard.

"I was very honoured to be asked to do her funeral."