Ewan Murrie
Reporter

Good morning: We'll be keeping you up to date with the news and other useful or interesting information from around the county through the day.

The major story is likely to be the continuing water problems in part of Eden, external, and we'll try to keep you informed of developments as they happen.

You can help - if there's news you think we should know or you want to share a photo you've taken, let us know by sending an email, or on Twitter, external.

People are warned not to drink, wash or cook with tap water in Cumbria after damage to a main.

Martin Lewes
Reporter

We've now stepped back to let the software post news and other useful information for the county through the night.

Here's a reminder of some of today's developments:

• The winter weather was doing no favours at all to United Utilities or the residents in a huge area of Eden, with Storm Ciara ripping out a pipeline, and freezing weather then hampering repairs and the operation to keep supplies flowing
• The National Trust, which looks after Allan Bank at Grasmere, took a page out of Banksy's book and invited in a local artist to chalk huge portraits on the walls to celebrate a series of anniversaries
• And the bomb disposal squad was called out to Grange today to deal with what was thought to be a piece of old ordnance. Well, you can never be too careful.

We'll be back from 08:00 tomorrow to keep you up with any developments on the water supply around the Eden valley, external, and the county's other news.

If you can help with news or pictures, let us know by sending an email, or on Twitter, external.

Have a very good evening.

United Utilities says engineers will be working through another night to try to repair the water main smashed by a river in spate just south of Shap fell at the weekend, leaving water supplies for about 4,000 properties across a huge area of Eden district at risk.

Earlier on BBC Radio Cumbria, Dr Martin Padley from United Utilities said freezing weather was making it difficult to weld the steel pipes together and he was unable to give any estimate for when supplies would return to normal.

At about lunchtime the situation was declared to be a major incident, meaning that all the agencies who might be involved, such as health trusts, the emergency services, and the water company, were meeting regularly to co-ordinate their response, including keeping the A6 clear over Shap.

Meanwhile, fleets of tankers were shuttling back and forth, pumping seven million litres of water into the system to try to keep it from running dry, the task made more difficult because the highest tank in the system is next to the A6 on Shap Fell, with its notorious winter weather.

But a problem with excess chlorine, which had led to people being advised not to use the water for anything but flushing toilets, was resolved, and all householders affected by this have now been told.

Schools threatened with the loss of their water supply have been closing, and as matters stand, most are likely to remain closed tomorrow - you can check here, external.

And the United Utilities website, which it says is being updated as the situation changes, is here, external.

The Environment Agency is maintaining warnings for flooding, external along the Cumbrian coast, the Solway Firth and Morecambe Bay at the high tides tonight between 23:00 and 03:00.

BBC Weather

There will be a further mix of clear spells and wintry showers tonight, with the winds moderating slightly and lowest temperatures of -3C to 0C (27F to 32F).

The showers will again present the risk of localised snow accumulations, mainly but not exclusively on hills.

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

There is a yellow Met Office warning for heavy rain, external at the weekend, associated with Storm Dennis.

The Met Office has posted a new yellow weather warning for heavy rain, external this weekend, with a low pressure area now named as Storm Dennis because of strong winds across the south of Britain.

Image source, Met Office

The warning says up to 70mm (2.75in) could fall on higher ground, which is already wet from recent rainfall.

Police say burglars who broke into a house in the Belle Vue area of Carlisle threatened occupants, before taking some property.

A number of detectives are now investigating the attack in Moorhouse Road at about 01:00 this morning. No one was injured.

There's an appeal for witnesses.

Image source, Google

BBC News Travel

The A6 between Kendal and Shap has now been closed because of the snow at Shap Summit, although as United Utilities is trying to get road tankers to the water storage facilities next to the road at its nighest point, Cumbria highways gritters are continuing to try to reopen it.

Image source, Cumbria County Council

A university student who crashed a car containing seven passengers, including one in the boot, has been banned from driving.

Carlisle Crown Court was told Ryan McSepheny, 30, agreed to drive the Renault Clio after an eight-strong group left the Wheelhouse nightclub, Bowness-on-Windermere, to return to accommodation in Ambleside.

Two women perched on other students’ knees while the Clio’s owner had squeezed herself into the boot, but they screamed for McSepheny to slow down as he drove too fast for the winding road, eventually crashing into a wall.

McSepheny, of Sheffield Street, Carlisle, admitted dangerous driving and must complete 125 hours’ unpaid work, a year’s driving ban and a re-test, but a nine-month jail sentence was suspended.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
John Connell

A private council meeting will be held to try to mediate in the row between villagers in Parton over how the parish council is being run.

Image source, Google

Copeland Borough Council is powerless to scrap Patron Parish Council but is duty-bound as the “lead authority” to help resolve the community crisis, it emerged at a special meeting yesterday.

Officers have now been given two petitions, one calling for new elections, and the other in support of the existing council, with a call to "make Parton village great again".

Now the borough's standards and ethics committee, which has already dealt with a number of complaints under a code of conduct and has more pending, has been asked to undertake "mediation".

The meeting heard that several resignations and the dismissal of the clerk have resulted in the parish council not having adequate, lawful, banking arrangements, and councillor David Moore, who serves on the executive, confirmed that the cost to the borough was “huge”.

Peter Turner abused a child at a Catholic boarding school and two more in another parish.

A van driver pulling into a Penrith filling station for a coffee failed to see a pensioner walking across the entrance and knocked him down, causing a fatal head injury, a court heard today.

At North and West Cumbria Magistrates’ Court this morning, Joseph Russell Michael Leech, 67, of Whitecroft Road, Wigan, admitted causing the death of 72-year-old Colin Jeffery through careless driving.

Kristina Lancaster, defending, spoke of a “momentary lapse of concentration” by Leech, who had not seen Mr Jeffery until the impact with his vehicle.

Leech was made subject to a 12-month community order comprising 200 hours’ work, and banned from driving for 20 months.

Image source, Cumbria Police

Police and bomb disposal officers called to Main Street in Grange this morning to deal with what was suspected to be an old piece of military equipment, say it turned out to be an ashtray.

News and Star
Newspaper

A special outdoor screening will be held to mark the release of a new film, external set in the Lake District.

Image source, Life of a Mountain/Terry Abraham

BBC Cumbria Sport

Carlisle United could extend their unbeaten league run to six games tonight when they host Cheltenham Town at Brunton Park.

United's current five games without a loss is their best run of form in more than a year and has moved Chris Beech's side 12 points above the League Two relegation spot.

Next to the highest point of the Shap Fell stretch of the A6, there are huge underground water tanks, and these are part of the system United Utilities is trying to keep flowing by pumping in water from tankers. Winter is not helping.

People in Shap and the surrounding areas are being advised not to drink, wash or cook using their tap water after a section of water main was damaged by Storm Ciara on Sunday.

United Utilities says areas in and around Appleby, Shap, Orton, Ravenstonedale, Ivegill, Low Braithwaite, Threlkeld and Glenridding may be the first to suffer low pressure or lose supplies altogether because of the major pipeline failure between Kendal and Shap.

The water firm said a 100m (330ft) section of the water main was damaged in Sunday's storm.

The company has published a map, external showing the areas most at risk from the huge slice of Cumbria served by the broken pipeline.

You can find the company's full statement here, external.

Image source, United Utilities

Ben Maeder
Journalist, BBC Radio Cumbria

Huge pictures of three historical figures have been drawn in chalk on the walls of one of the National Trust's Cumbrian properties by county artist Sarah Jackman.

The faces of Wordsworth (pictured), Coleridge, and the Trust co-founder Hardwicke Rawnsley now decorate Allan Bank at Grasmere.

It's to mark 125 years of the National Trust, 250 years since the birth of Wordsworth, and 100 years since the death of Canon Rawnsley.

Some homes have already started to lose water supplies as United Utilities engineers struggle to weld new pipes into a broken main, a senior company official says.

Speaking on BBC Radio Cumbria, Dr Martin Padley said welders had been brought in from a wide area, but low temperatures were hampering the work on high ground near Selside, north of Kendal, and he was unable to say how long it would take.

The main supplies about 4,000 properties, mainly to the south of Penrith, and because water is draining through the pipes network towards the low ground, those at the extremities of the supply network and higher altitudes will lose supplies first.

Dr Padley said high levels of chlorine, which had led to people being advised not to use water for cooking, washing or drinking, were now being reduced, and a fleet of tankers were being used to pump about seven million litres of water into the mains network to keep supplies going as long as possible.

You can find information released by united Utilities on the company website here, external.