Flood damage victims will be exempt from council tax

More than 3,000 homes and businesses were damaged in the storms and many dozens of houses are uninhabitable three weeks after the floods.

Now Carlisle City Council has decided that residents whose homes are still not fit to live in will be exempt from paying council tax.

To apply for the exemption householders must also have lost a lot of furniture.

Residents are being asked to contact the council for help to dispose of flood-damaged property stored in front gardens.

The council says the majority of material should be removed by Sunday.

Builders undertaking remedial works on properties should make their own arrangements to remove building waste.