About four in 10 businesses hit by the floods in Carlisle are still officially unable to return to their original trading bases.

Latest statistics issued to The Cumberland News say there were 203 firms in the city and its districts swamped by the storms of December.

The statistics, from Carlisle City Council, state 125 of the sites are now reoccupied, with figures calculated from business rate discounts.

But nearly 80 have still either postponed trading or are working from other sites.

The issue of returning to flood-hit properties is one now preoccupying some business bosses.

Energy giant Shell recently said it wanted reassurances that better flood defences will be built to ensure the long term viability of its Hardwicke Circus petrol station.

The landmark garage, flooded in December, is in the process of being demolished - but rebuilding work is not expected to start until late next year or early 2018.

Others still feeling the effects of the floods include Jacinta Cooper, the owner of KoKoa Bride, which was on Warwick Road.

She lost about £100,000-worth of stock in the floods.

After the floods she transferred into a temporary premises at Border Toyota on Parkhouse Road at Kingstown.

She said: "I'd love to go back because I actually love it there and it felt quite like home - just one of those comfortable places to be.

"But the longer it goes on, the more hesitant I tend to be.

"The longer it goes on the more upsetting it becomes because in the event of it happening again, we can't be out of the market for that long."

About 6ft of water entered the building during the floods.

She added: "From the foundation to the roof, there's such a lot of damage."

On the move to temporary premises, she added: "Everybody has been fantastic and I can't thank Toyota enough."

Jacinta loved the location on Warwick Road and said it would be hard to find such a good place again.

She added she wants a shop in the right location, that is easy to get to and has parking nearby.

"It's quite heart breaking because we built the business to the very high standard and people knew we were there," added Jacinta.

"We're in the temporary premises and we're doing really well, but to see the shop and to see it's still in the state it's in, it's more heart breaking than the beginning, because there's no closure.

"There's no end to it.

"I try and make sense of it in my own head because I think if you don't, you can just go mad."