It you think it's been a wet few weeks in Carlisle, you're right.

Jen Bartram, one of the BBC's weather experts, has been checking the records.

Two Cumbrian NHS Trusts formally complete their merger today, external.

The Trust which until now has run Whitehaven and Carlisle hospitals will join the Partnership Trust, which ran cottage hospitals and mental health services, and some community services, to create the North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust.

At the same time the county's mental health and learning disability services have now been taken over by two trusts, in North Cumbria one which covers the north east, and in the south of the county, one which covers Lancashire.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
John Connell

The leader of Allerdale council has refused to commit to double tree cover across the borough following calls from environmental pressure groups.

Campaigners told a meeting that wooded spaces comprise just 7% of the region, considerably below the national average of 13%.

But Marion Fitzgerald stopped short of a pledge to increase tree cover across the borough to 14%, citing practical concerns over how the target could be achieved.

At the same meeting, councillors voted not to declare a "climate emergency", but to ask a scrutiny committee to look at possible actions and come back with suggestions on how to become carbon neutral by 2030, “where it does not negatively impact on our communities.”

Image source, Google

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Ellis Butcher

Residents in Kendal have protested at the way trees are being felled in their street.

Image source, Google

At a meeting of the county council's South Lakeland area committee, Martin Lucas submitted a petition with 50 signatures from his fellow residents in Collin Road, saying the area was losing its character because so many had been felled.

Mr Lucas said: “Slowly, over the years, we have found one tree will go and then another will go. When they go we hear different reasons every time.”

Councils can cut down trees without consultation if they are unhealthy or present a ‘danger,’ council officials said, and Councillor Brenda Gray told the committee trees would not be planted on the street there today because the pavements are too narrow.

Peter Hoskins, area highways manager, said: “The danger may be not just to the surface but may also be because of roots damaging underground apparatus. In those instances, those trees can be removed without a need to go through a formal consultation,” he said.

• The photo of Collin Road was taken 11 years ago.

The careers service in Cumbria's schools and colleges has been rated among the best in England.

The service has to meet a series of requirements, called the Gatsby benchmarks, external, and a national study found the Cumbria Careers Hub had made significant progress linking schools and colleges with employers.

A man accused of stabbing someone so hard in the face that 12cm of the blade had to be removed by a surgeon, has declined to give evidence to the jury at Carlisle Crown Court.

Scott Topping, 39, of Mulligans Court, Wigton, admits wounding Robert Pattinson with intent to cause grievous bodily harm but has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, in the brawl outside the Throstles Nest pub in April.

Image source, Google

Jurors were told earlier today that Topping has admitted four offences committed in the aftermath of the stabbing.

Jurors will retire to consider their verdict on the charge he denies once they have heard barristers' closing speeches and a summing-up of evidence by the trial judge, His Honour James Adkin.

Police say they believe two fires within 10 days on the Derwent Howe Industrial estate at Workington were started deliberately.

Flooring was damaged in the premises involved in the fires on 20 and 29 September.

Flood water is causing delays on roads and railways as swathes of England are swamped by rain.

John Bowness
BBC Radio Cumbria reporter

Travellers on the A6 heading south out of Shap may take a distant glance at the Wetsleddale dam to see if the water level has reached the point where it overflows down the spillway.

This is what it looks like close up.

The dam is part of the same system as the much bigger Haweswater reservoir, supplying water to much of the north-west of England.

Neil Smith
South Cumbria journalist, BBC Cumbria

An 1,100-year-old piece of Viking silver, found last year near Dalton, could be deemed "treasure" and put on display in the Dock Museum in Barrow.

Image source, British Museum

The strap end is 44mm (1.75in) long and made of cast silver, decorated with motifs, lines and two mythical creatures with a long bodies and snouted heads.

This style dates it to the ninth or early 10th century, earlier than the celebrated Furness hoard of Viking silver of 2011.

The Cumbria Coroner will now hold a treasure trove inquest in due course, and if it is ruled to be treasure, a price will be set that should be within the reach of Barrow's Dock Museum.

BBC News Travel

Northern says the Cumbria Coast rail line between Carlisle and Maryport has now reopened, with trains starting to run again.

There will be a speed limit in the affected area and some services will still be delayed.

News and Star
Newspaper

A primary school battling back from a damning inspection is under new control today, external.

Image source, News and Star

A man and woman are facing jail after a child, who was not wearing a seat belt, suffered devastating head injuries in a Lake District car crash.

Carlisle Crown Court heard the Preston couple were returning to Lancashire by car after a first date trip, and while one child was restrained in a car seat, a traffic camera captured a young girl on the male front seat passenger's lap, unrestrained.

Soon afterwards, in blizzard conditions on the A591 near Windermere, the woman lost control of the car, which left the road before hitting a tree and wall.

The girl suffered life-threatening injuries and was left with brain damage.

The man and woman denied child cruelty, but were found guilty after a trial, and they will go to Preston Crown Court on 28 October for sentence.

• The man and woman cannot be named to protect the child's identity.

Cumbria, especially the Lake District, is regularly used for filming TV series, like The A Word on BBC, or Deep Water in ITV, external, and for major films like Swallows and Amazons, external.

So a couple of people in a pub can spark a certain amount of speculation...

People in Eden are being told more about the district council's plans to become a carbon neutral organisation, eliminating its contribution to climate change, in just over a decade.

By 2030, the council says it will either offset the carbon emissions, external of its operations, or eliminate emissions altogether.

Image source, Google

It will start over the next year by assessing all its operations, such as waste collection and street cleaning, and ask the government to provide any legal powers and money to enable it to meet the target.

People will have the chance to share their opinions on the target and the rest of the council plan at public meetings and online, external.

BBC Weather

This afternoon will see any lingering rain clear southwards to leave it dry with spells of sunshine developing.

It will feel chilly with brisk northeasterly winds and highest temperatures from 9C to 12C (48F to 54F).

You can always find the latest, hour-by-hour, BBC weather forecast for where you are, here.

A number of homes were also flooded by last night's heavy rain.

Image source, CFRS

Fire crews from the Carlisle East station said they had pumped out a number of properties including garages at these houses in Vallam Close.

BBC News Travel

King Street and Station Road in Wigton, the road outside the Royal Oak in Curthwaite, and Briscoe Road, Dalston Road, London Road and Kingmoor Road in Carlisle, are all still listed by Cumbria Highways as closed because of flooding at 12:00, although water levels in Wigton were locally said to be receding.

As of 11:30, Northern Rail said flooding was still disrupting services between Maryport and Carlisle, and Carlisle and Haltwhistle.

Great Orton School is closing at 13:00 today because of the amount of water on surrounding roads.

This scene, near Aspatria, is some of the flooding that has disrupted services on the Cumbria Coast line.

Image source, GNRP