Parts of Carlisle were left uninhabitable after the floods

To be eligible for the discount, the ground floor of the home must be uninhabitable due to the floods, but other floors must be still occupied.

The discount will apply until all floors of the home are back in use.

Three people died in the storms and floods which also left thousands of homes without power.

The council is writing to properties they believe are entitled to the discount and those who do not receive a letter and think they are eligible should contact the council.

The discount was agreed at a meeting of Carlisle City Council's Executive Committee.

Security patrols

They also agreed to allocate a �1.5m Office of the Deputy Prime Minister grant to a number of projects.

These include a stock condition survey of flood affected homes, �325,000 for uninsured properties to make good any flood damage and �325,000 for insured homes to bring them up to Decent Homes standard.

A grant of �15,000 was agreed for private security patrols of flood affected areas while �130,000 will be spent on a clean-up.

The money is in addition to the Cumbria Flood Recovery Appeal relief fund which has raised more than �750,000.

All but �70,000 of the cash has been allocated, with 47 awards to groups and 707 to individuals and families.