A vicar at the heart of Carlisle’s flood recovery effort says people are weary of fighting to rebuild their lives and enduring daily stress.

The Rev Keith Teasdale, vicar of St Aidan’s Church on Warwick Road, which was flooded, said he joined Carlisle Flood Action Group’s committee so he could look other flood victims in the eye and tell them he was doing as much as he could to make sure the floods didn’t happen again.

And the Rev Andy Fearon, of Carlisle Vineyard Church, who is also on the committee, said part of his heart broke on the Saturday of the floods.

He said: “We’re weary. People are tired and weary and done, just done.

“For some of us it feels like the floods are still here. Our hearts are full of stress and fear.”

The two clergymen were among 500 flood victims who gathered at a meeting in Carlisle this week to discuss progress and raise concerns.

Dr Stephen Gibbs, chairman of the group, focused the meeting on what needed to be done to protect Carlisle and other areas from flooding in future.

He suggested a new body should be formed to make sure pressure continues to be applied to Government, and criticised local MPs and councils for leaving a “leadership gulf” after the floods.

He said: “As far as I can tell there’s complete confusion. It’s a messy picture. There’s no-one you can go to who’s in charge of this process of protection.

“The structures are not clear.”

Ali Heuvingh, of Eldred Street, St Aidan’s, Carlisle, criticised the loss adjusters, claiming there was a discrepancy in how they seem to be treating flood victims.

Speaking after the meeting, she said: “I feel so disappointed that not only does it appear I’m a victim of the floods, I’m also a victim of the loss adjusters.

“They’ve worn me down. I’m a strong person but they’ve worn me down.”

Gordon Hastings, of Brunton Crescent, St Aidan’s, Carlisle, said 90 per cent of the people in the room all had different problems at the moment, especially with loss adjusters.

“It’s causing a lot of stress,” he claimed. “It’s caused people to have diabetes. It’s caused people to have heart attacks.”

Sophie Thornton, who was rescued from her house in Eldred Street along with her chinchilla, dog and two cats in December, wanted to know why the floods happened in the first place, and thinks there should be an inquiry.

She also has concerns that she and her partner Chris Fairclough will not be able to sell their house in the future.


Mike Fox Mike Fox’s house was flooded in Crosby-on-Eden, and, four months after Storm Desmond struck, he thinks it will be another three or four months before he can return home.

He said: “I think it’s a wake up call for the local authorities. The authorities in place at the moment don’t really appear to know what they are doing.”

Alan McDermott, of Greystone Road, off London Road, Carlisle, is another member of the action group committee.

He said he sensed a level of despondency in the room at the Crown and Mitre on Monday night.

“Please don’t lose the momentum of why we’re here,” he urged people. 

Both John Stevenson, MP for Carlisle and Colin Glover, leader of Carlisle City Council, who were at the meeting rejected Dr Gibbs’ attack on the lack of leadership since the floods.

Mr Glover, who is standing for election in May, said: “I appreciate what he was saying, but I don’t necessarily recognise the lack of leadership.”

Instead Mr Glover said the problem was a lack of communication between the council and locals, so people do not know about the work going on. He added that some of the ideas suggested by the action group were already being discussed.

He said: “We have got to establish what the best possible defences are, keep that under review and make sure it’s fully funded.”

Mr Stevenson said: “I felt the meeting was a bit of a missed opportunity, because I think we’re still in the recovery stage.

What I would say to them is if they want to be part of it, get involved rather than saying what is already happening.”