A LOCAL MP was thanked on national radio for his response to the fallout from Storm Arwen.

Kate from Marlow in Buckinghamshire called into the station concerning her 95-year-old grandad.

She participated in Shelagh Fogarty's show

She said: "My family live near Coniston and Friday night their electric went off."

Coniston has been one of the worst affected communities in the region.

She continued: "My grandad, who is 95, was without electric.

"He's recently out of hospital with pneumonia so we were worried sick about him.

"I contacted Tim Farron, the local MP, on Sunday night and first thing Monday morning his secretary phoned me - by lunchtime he was in an Airbnb

"Tim Farron in the Lake District has gone above and beyond what any MP could've done."

She explained that they had been struggling to get anywhere reasonable.

"There are hundreds in the area who aren't as lucky as my grandad," she said. "I feel sorry for anybody without water. Trying to get through to Electricity North West is impossible.

"My mum got through on Sunday and they only offered accommodation in Buxton in Derbyshire - three hours away.

"We went on Trivago and there was plenty of accommodation locally - for some reason that wasn't offered."

Shelagh Fogarty agreed: "An elderly person can't live in a house with no heat for long.

"It's great when MPs can help you with things like this so kudos to Tim Farron."

Mr Farron thanked his caseworkers for their hard work on the matter.

He has also criticised the Government response to Storm Arwen.

He said: "There is no time to lose on learning the lessons of Storm Arwen. Winter has only just begun and it is clear our infrastructure cannot withstand any more storms.

"The past week has been a scandal and the government has been asleep at the wheel.

"People in Cumbria feel rightly forgotten about by this Government. It took me days to get a Government Minister to come to Parliament to answer my questions on why people in Cumbria still had no power days after the storm."