HOMEOWNERS in Cumbria feared the worse this weekend as Storm Dennis hit the county, with yellow and amber warnings in place.

However, Storm Dennis didn't bring the devastation and destruction Storm Ciara brought only one week earlier.

One of the most badly affected areas during Storm Ciara was Appleby with roads and some properties flooding.

This week preparation were put in place for the town in case Storm Dennis brought the same levels of disruption.

During Saturday and into Sunday volunteers from Appleby Emergency Response Group monitored river levels closely waiting for the peak, working closely with the Environment Agency to keep residents updated.

Stewart Mounsey, flood risk manager for the Environment Agency praised the work of community groups.

He said: "All partnerships including police, highways and firefighters have been working together, in particular, we've been working with community groups.

"They've been really helpful and we've been really well prepared.

"What helped the most was that we had slightly less rain than we did with Ciara and we had that gap in the rain too which saw river levels drop.

"I'd definitely like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been involved.

"The community groups have been working hard to put sandbags out and make sure residents are safe."

Storm Dennis was expected to bring between 40 to 50mm of rainfall and 80mm in high ground.

"We were prepared for both storms but with the snow and water issues, Storm Ciara proved worse," continued Mr Mounsey.

"Volunteers were out giving out sandbags and we'd mobilised pumps.

"We expected it to be worse than Ciara but in the end it was less. We'd rather be over prepared then under prepared."

Gareth Hayes, a volunteer for Appleby Emergency Response Group got a call at about 1pm yesterday to say the group could be stood down.

He explained: "We set up a command centre and I'd like to thank the women who ran that.

"We were constantly kept updated on what needed to be done where and who needed to be where.

"Information dissipation was something that was managed much better than during Ciara and I'd like to think the town are comforted by the fact we were better managed.

"We still have tidy up operations we need to do. Gutters will need to be cleared.

"People need to be wary of road conditions and take extra care on footpaths because these take longer to return to normal."