A charity has suffered a £20,000 blow after a festival designed to fuel Cumbria's floods fightback was hit by freak weather.

Eden Arts has been left with the significant cash deficit from the inaugural Summer Pudding festival held at Appleby Castle.

It was designed to give the surrounding community a boost as it continues to recover from the devastation of Storm Desmond.

But last Saturday's festival day was one of the wettest days of the year so far, with the awful summer downpours putting a severe dampener on visitor numbers.

The irony of the weather hampering a flood recovery event has not been lost on organisers, who are determined to explore whether Summer Pudding can be held again next year - in the hope of sunshine turning out.

Eden Arts director Adrian Lochhead said: "Once again the capricious weather has had an extraordinary impact.

"One wonders what Appleby has done to deserve this. The weather could not have been timed more perfectly to have a negative impact; it’s an unfunny joke, isn’t it, flood recovery event badly affected by rain."

The festival was well supported by locals and visitors from as far as Manchester, Yorkshire and Merseyside.

It featured top street art performers, a retro craft market, foodie treats and live music that included performances by Sam and the Womp, The Correspondents and Gypsy Hill.

Organisers say those who turned out enjoyed events, even though they had to be scaled back because of the weather.

Mr Lochhead added: "There was a friendly, lively atmosphere.

"Some of our performers went beyond the pale to entertain the crowd. I cannot praise them enough."

Summer Pudding was backed by Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, Eden Council and Arts Council England.