Three days after the floods in Cumbria, homeowners and businesspeople in the worst-hit town of Cockermouth are finally being allowed to see the devastation for themselves. Here, Catherine Hetherington studies the damage done to her bookshop.
Until now, the main street in Cockermouth has been sealed off by a police cordon. But now shop owners are being allowed to go through, once they have given their details and been given rubber gloves for protection.
Although residents and business-owners were allowed to return to the 900 affected properties, the town centre was still closed to the general public.
The chief executive of Cumbria County Council said the damage from the floods would cost "tens of millions of pounds" to put right, while the chief constable of Cumbria Police said it could take years for the county to fully recover.
Before allowing residents to return, police warned people to prepare themselves for the emotional impact of seeing the devastation for the first time. Here, Peter Hirst looks through an empty window frame onto his wrecked living room.
More then 1,300 homes were flooded by record daily rainfall last week and work continues on a safety review of all 1,800 bridges in Cumbria, where six crossings have already collapsed.
Cumbria Police Chief Constable Craig Mackey paid tribute to the public response to the floods, as the operation moved from the rescue phase to the clean-up. "I am touched by the real sense of community spirit," he said.
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