Floods in Cumbria

Cumbria is a rural county which rarely makes the national news, but this week we have made international news, and all because of freak weather. At the end of last week in some parts of the county twelve inches of rain fell in 24 hours, the highest rainfall ever in the UK.

Luckily for me where I live, it was wet but not to that degree, the worst rainfall was further west and south of the county. The towns of Workington and Cockermouth were worst hit, I could not believe the TV film of a raging torrent of water flowing through the main street of Cockermouth, usually a quiet, picturesque town on the edge of the beautiful Lake District. On the radio all I hear is news about closed roads, overflowing lakes, collapsing bridges. And worst of all the latter - collapsing bridges - claimed the life of policeman Bill Barker as he was helping others by stopping people crossing an unsafe bridge which gave way under his feet. My thoughts are with his family and all the people who have lost their homes in this terrible deluge. Despite our high tech society there is no power like Mother Nature unleashed.

Bill Barker, rest in peace.