Prince praises response to floods on Cumbria visit

The Prince of Wales has praised the "Cumbrian spirit" on the second day of a tour of flood-affected areas.

Prince Charles met members of the emergency services, the RNLI, the RAF, the RSPCA and the local mountain rescue team during a visit to Cockermouth.

He visited an indoor temporary "high street" created to allow some of the flood-hit businesses to keep trading.

He also spent time with the family of Pc Bill Barker, who was swept to his death when a bridge collapsed.

A warehouse belonging to Mitchells auctioneers has been turned into a temporary shopping mall.

So far it contains 12 businesses whose premises are being renovated.

Prince Charles spoke to residents and business owners in the town

Prince Charles said: "I have always been a large admirer of the Cumbrian spirit.

"What has been so incredible is people's resilience to the horrors.

"Everywhere I have been I have heard praise for the emergency services, especially for the mountain rescue team.

"I cannot tell you how proud I am to come up here and experience the fantastic way in which the British respond to a disaster. Everyone is helping together."

Speaking about the temporary shopping mall, Mitchells auctioneers chairman Bob Watson said: "We have got to get this town up and running.

"The shops are the heartbeat of the place. We just want our town back."

The prince was asked for a donation to the mountain rescue charity by builder Ashley Gill, who found the collection box buried in silt while clearing the Black Bull pub in the town.

Mr Gill, a builder from Whitehaven, said: "I don't think he had any cash on him. I thanked him for coming up to the area, it's much needed."

On Friday, thousands of people packed into Keswick's market square to watch the prince switch on the Christmas lights.

Footbridge construction begins

He said he wanted to get the message out to the world that Keswick and the Lake District were open for business.

Earlier in the day he visited Workington and viewed the extent of the damage to the town which was cut in half when floods destroyed or damaged its bridges.

Mr Barker died when the town's Northside Bridge caved in on 20 November.

Hundreds of people attended his funeral at his home town of Egremont on Friday.

Prince Charles also met construction workers building a temporary train station to provide links to residents forced to make long detours.

At the height of the flooding, Cockermouth's main street was under water.

Homes were also affected, and during the rescue operation RAF helicopters had to airlift dozens of people to safety, with some forced to break through the roofs of their houses.

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