By Julie Morgan

Last updated at 11:45, Saturday, 20 October 2012

A west Cumbrian family have been deluged for the second time in just two months.

Emma-Jane Taylor and daughter Katy

Emma-Jane Taylor and her daughter Katy watched with horror as their home was swamped with flood water yet again.

Like many families in the area, Emma-Jane and Katy were still struggling to recover from the August floods when torrential rain brought new chaos to their lives on Wednesday.

They were living in a caravan while work was being carried out on their home in High Road, St Bees to rectify damage by August’s flooding.

Emma-Jane watched in horror as water flowed like a torrent down her drive.

“Within minutes it was like a river,’’ she said.

Katy, 16, who has Down’s Syndrome, is now petrified of the weather.

“Katy and I were planning to move back into our house by Christmas,’’ Emma-Jane said. “We thought we would be living in the caravan for weeks, it will now be months.’’

Emma-Jane explained the problems was caused by drainage.

She said: “I’ve had Copeland and county councillors out to have a look, but it all comes down to money, and apparently there isn’t any. But that’s not good enough. We have now been flooded twice in seven weeks.

“It is very cramped in the caravan and not much fun but we have to keep putting the pressure on for something to be done.’’

Sally Bennett, lives at Egremont’s Dryden Way, with her husband Mark and two children. They were also flooded in August.

She said: “Following Wednesday’s rain the water in the garden was up to my knees. However, since August we are better prepared and had sandbags, so the water was slower coming into our house.

“However, the garden is a mess and it is still horrendous to have clean up every time there is heavy rain.

“I’ve lived here nine years and this is the sixth or seventh time I’ve been flooded. It is so frustrating.’’

The August flooding saw Sally spend £700 on clearing up the damage.

“It was really bad then,’’ she said. “The water was gushing through the front door and we were just pushing it out the back door.

“The problem here is the beck, our drains can’t cope with the water. I’m just nervous now every time it rains.’’

Cumbria County Council has responsibility for drains. No-one was available from the authority to comment on the issue.

A Copeland Council spokesperson said: “We want to know who has been affected so we can offer them help and support.’’

Following Wednesday’s rain, firefighters, with pumping equipment, were also called to localised flooding across Copeland.”

The extreme downpour forced the closure of several schools including St Patrick’s at Cleator Moor where the rain caused the ceiling to collapse.

Fortunately pupils had been moved by staff into the school hall before the ceiling tiles came down with the force of water.

The school was closed yesterday as builders and electricians attended to the damage. It was due to reopen today

Headteacher Emma Jackson praised her teachers who went into school to help with the clean-up operation. She also thanked her pupils, who despite some being scared by this week’s storm, behaved “very sensibly’’.

Firefighters were also called to flooding at St Bees School and a flooded kitchen at Jericho School, Whitehaven.

Fire crews also attended flooding at Whitehaven’s Market Place, as well as homes at Coleridge Drive at Egremont. Whitehaven RLFC Recreation Ground was also affected.

The storm also triggered a landslip near Nethertown disrupting the rail service used by Sellafield workers.

Trains are now running again between Carlisle and Barrow but Network Rail says that passengers should expect delays of up to 30 minutes.

Copeland Council appealed to those affected by the floods to contact them on 0845 0548600.

First published at 16:44, Friday, 19 October 2012
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk