Flooding caused by heavy rainfall overnight is creating significant travel disruption for motorists and rail passengers in Cumbria.
A yellow warning for rain, issued by the Met Office, came into effect from midnight on Thursday and is expected to remain in place until at least 7pm on Thursday evening.
The Met Office has warned people that flooding of homes and businesses “is possible” and that there may be some interruption to power supplies.
Flooding in Carlisle is causing disruption with a car trapped under a bridge. Credit: ITV Border
Nick Raymond, senior manager for highways delivery at Cumberland Council, said that the council has dealt with around 15-20 flooded properties, and around 30 roads which have been closed or impassable.
He said: “Cumberland experienced a significant rainfall event overnight, which put down 60mm of rain – about 15 times the daily average you’d expect for Cumberland.
Cumberland Council has issued an update of the roads that are closed this morning. Credit: Cumberland Council
On questions of drain maintenance, Mr Raymond responded: “We have an annual schedule for cleaning the drains… [but] 60mm of rainfall in such a short period of time, no system is built for that.
“What we do prepare for is ensuring we’re in a position to deal with the problems when they occur, which is exactly what we’ve done today.”
The weather warning covers the Scottish Borders, parts of Dumfries and Galloway and the majority of Cumbria. Credit: Met Office
Rail passengers faced a morning of disruption across Cumbria with Northern Rail services on the Settle to Carlisle line and the West Cumbrian line cancelled.
Northern Rail say that delays is expected “until the end of the day” and that disruption has been caused by heavy rainfall overnight.
In a statement Northern Rail said: “Services between Carlisle and Whitehaven are being disrupted due to heavy rain flooding the railway.
Northern Rail have issued a statement to passengers after flooding has caused the railway between Hexham and Carlisle to be blocked. Credit: Northern Rail
“As a result, you cannot travel by Northern Trains between Carlisle and Whitehaven in both directions due to this issue as there are no trains running and due to adverse road conditions, rail replacement buses will not be provided.
“Network Rail engineers are on site and are assess the situation however disruption is expected until the end of the day.”
Flooding has hit the town of Brampton with heavy rain overnight causing problems across the county. Credit: ITV Border
Northern Rail also spoke of the disruption on the Settle to Carlisle line.
They said: “Services between Leeds – Carlisle are currently being disrupted due to flooding between Appleby – Carlisle. Network Rail engineers are on site to assess the extent of the flooding.”
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