Sand bags were put in place as floods threatened homes

Homes in Carlisle, badly hit in floods in January, were affected, but the west of the county was worst hit.

Lifeboats were called to Egremont as rivers and becks (streams) threatened defences put up by police.

Three people died in the January floods while thousands had to leave their houses and many are yet to return.

The Met Office said 70mm of rain fell in 12 hours on Tuesday, about the same that would normally be expected to fall in two weeks at this time of year.

Damage assessed

Stagecoach, which lost all its 85 vehicles in January, evacuated its main bus station in Carlisle as a precaution.

Worst hit on Tuesday night was the village of Bridgefoot, between Workington and Cockermouth, where resident Ian Elliot said about 50% of the houses were flooded.

Carlisle Housing Association said staff worked into the night helping tenants and providing sand bags.

It said in a statement: "We are currently in the process of assessing the extent of the damage.

"We have suspended all day-to-day repairs and will only be dealing with emergencies. We would ask people to be patient when calling in as we are experiencing an increase in the number of calls that we are receiving.

"We will be sending officers to visit tenants where we know that properties have been flooded, to check on their welfare and assess the damage."