BBC Cumbria Sport

Two of Cumbria's three rugby league sides are at home in the Challenge Cup fourth round, after the draw last night.

Whitehaven will host fellow Championship side Dewsbury Rams while Workington Town will host Championship side Doncaster if they get past amateurs West Bowling in their rescheduled tie.

Barrow Raiders will be away to Featherstone Rovers if they get past London Skolars in their rescheduled tie.

Image source, SWpix.com

BBC Weather

It will remain cold and very windy this afternoon as west to northwest gales push wintry showers and sunny spells across the county.

The showers will turn to snow on higher ground, leading to further accumulations in places and highest temperatures will range from 2C (36F) to 5C (41F).

You can always find the latest BBC weather forecast for where you are by looking for your location here.

The Met Office has started posting weather warnings for Storm Dennis, external, a new Atlantic depression arriving on Friday, which it says will drop up to 70mm (2.75in) of rain.

Cumbria's police have now declared the water problems affecting parts of Eden are a major incident.

It's a move which brings all the public services into planning for problems which might arise as a result of the damage done to a water main by flooding at the weekend.

Meetings will be chaired by the police, although the water company United Utilities remains in charge of dealing with the main problems.

The company has already said that some places may lose supplies today, as engineers work to repair about 100 yards of water main, and water pressure has been dropping in some homes.

People in parts of Shap, Penrith, Appleby, Tebay, Clifton and Kirkby Stephen are affected.

Flood warnings have been posted, external for the high tides along the Cumbrian coast for another day, because of gale-force winds driving the sea into the Solway Firth and Morecambe Bay, and on to the shore between Millom and St Bees.

Bowness-on-Solway Primary School says it will be closing at 12:00 until tomorrow morning because the tides "might affect the safety of staff and children".

Cumbria's highways teams are preparing for more adverse weather in the next few days as snow and ice is expected.

A yellow Met Office weather warning is in place and Karl Melville, the senior network manager for Cumbria County Council, says it comes on top of the widespread flooding at the weekend.

Image source, Cumbria County Council

• Temperatures at 3,000ft (900m): About -1C (30F)
• Wind: Strong westerly 40mph to 50mph in the morning, increasing up to 65mph through the day
• Cloud: Bases will be 660ft to 1,000ft (200m to 300m) in the early morning but rise to around 2,600ft (800m) and above as the day progresses, but falling in any showers
• Freezing level: Around 660ft to 1,300ft (200m to 400m), lower in the north and west
• Visibility: Poor to moderate to start in low cloud, but becoming generally good in the afternoon, outside snow showers

The assessors for the Lake District Weatherline, external report a mixture of black ice, graupel (soft hail) and shallow snow drifts, meaning micro-spikes rather than crampons may be best, although crampons will become essential as the snow builds over the next few days.

BBC Weather

It will be a cold and very windy day as west to northwest gales push wintry showers and sunny spells over the area.

The showers will turn to snow on higher ground, leading to further accumulations in places and highest temperatures will be from 2C to 5C (36F to 41F).

There is a yellow Met Office weather warning for snow and ice covering most of the county here, external.

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

BBC News Travel

High level routes across Cumbria are affected by heavy snow showers and strong winds.

Image source, Cumbria County Council

This was the A6 at Shap just before 08:00. The M6 is also affected, as are the usual places like Hartside, the Kirkstone Pass, and Greenhead on the A69.

Elsewhere, a landslip has closed the Newlands Pass between Derwentwater and Buttermere, and flooding is still closing the St Johns in the Vale road at Threlkeld, and the Meathop Road near Grange over Sands.

United Utilities now says some properties may start losing water supplies today as work to repair a damaged water main is hampered by ground conditions and severe weather.

About 100m (328ft) of water main was washed away by a river during Storm Ciara on Sunday, and engineers have worked through the night trying to repair it.

People in properties in Shap and the surrounding area are being affected.

People in about 400 properties in Shap, in Cumbria, and the surrounding area, as far out as Great Asby, are advised not to use their water for drinking, washing or cooking.

This is because there is extra chlorine in the water after a major water main was washed away in flooding at the weekend.

You can find information about where you should not drink the water, by postcode, and where bottled water can be obtained, here, external.

You can find out whether the school you take your children to is closed, here, external.

United Utilities engineers are hoping to have the water main repaired later today.

Martin Lewes
Reporter

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 water problems in part of Eden, and we'll have links to the list of closed schools and information about water points in a few minutes.

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.

United Utilities engineers will be working through the night on a water main damaged by Storm Ciara, external, which is threatening to cut supplies to part of the Eden Valley stretching from Appleby and Kirkby Stephen to Shap and Pooley Bridge.

The company is advising people in around 400 properties in and around Shap not to use tap water for cleaning teeth, washing or cooking because it contains higher than usual levels of chlorine.

A number of schools will close tomorrow because of fears they might lose water, but the company says it is hoping to keep every customer's supply on.

You can see a list of schools closing here , externaland a list of water stations for people who are unable to use their supply here, external.

Image source, United Utilities

Kevin Fowlie, of United Utilities, says it is a substantial repair job and around 100m (110 yards) of pipe are involved.

Martin Lewes
Reporter

We've now stepped aside to let the technology post breaking major news and travel reports overnight.

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

• The county was clearing up after torrential rain yesterday caused the worst flooding since Storm Desmond
• Cumbria's police turned out in strength to pay their final respects to Nick Dumphreys, the officer killed when his patrol car went out of control on the M6
• And back with the weather, the Met Office, not content with the battering of the county by wind and rain in Storm Ciara, followed through with a blizzard, to coin a phrase, of weather warnings for snow and ice for the next two days.

We'll be back tomorrow from 08:00 tomorrow with what you need to know about the weather, and the rest.

You can get involved: 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, on Facebook, external, or on Twitter, external.

Have a very good evening.

BBC Weather

Tonight will have clear spells and squally showers, locally heavy and wintry too, mostly on high ground.

It will remain windy with a risk of gales in exposed areas. Minimum Temperature: -2 to 1C (28 to 34F).

There are yellow Met Office weather warnings, external out covering the county for heavy snow showers and ice on higher ground until Wednesday

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

A rapist who told a primary-age girl he would “hunt” her down and repeat the crime if she ever told anyone has been jailed for 12-and-a-half years by a judge at Carlisle Crown Court.

Image source, Cumbria Police

The offences happened more than 10 years ago and in an impact statement, the girl, now a woman, said: “Without any doubt whatsoever my childhood has been stolen because of that man”.

Mark Parker, 57, of Central Avenue, Harraby, Carlisle, admitted indecent assault and raping the girl, and it emerged he was already subjected to an indeterminate sentence imposed in 2005, when under the name Nicholas McKerrow he was jailed for offences committed against a number of boys and girls.

Judge Peter Davies said: “You are responsible for destroying people’s lives, and only you are responsible.”

The Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick has activated the Government's emergency Bellwin scheme for areas in the north of England affected by Storm Ciara.

The scheme will help qualifying areas in West Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lancashire because it enables local authorities dealing with the storm to apply to have all of the eligible costs they incur, above a threshold, to be reimbursed by the Government.

Image source, Owen Humphreys/PA Media

Mr Jenrick said: "Storm Ciara has had damaging effects on communities in the north of England, and I want to praise the efforts of the emergency services and key agencies who have responded to the disruption.

"We're working closely with local areas to support them in their recovery."

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A Cumbrian council is “saving lives” through its work to protect the victims of domestic abuse, according to the independent Mayor of Copeland, Mike Starkie.

A dedicated officer helps survivors from first contact when they have already made the decision to leave a violent or coercive partner but then, crucially, this support continues for long enough to reduce the chance of vulnerable people returning to a violent or toxic relationship.

The service is now set to continue after the council recently secured additional funding through Sellafield and Copeland Community Fund for another three years.

Copeland council now has eight units of temporary accommodation in the borough, three of which have been adapted specifically for victims of domestic abuse.

Image source, Getty Images

United Utilities says engineers are still working to repair a pipe that was damaged by flooding at the weekend.

The pipe leads from the Watchgate Treatment Centre near Kendal, and the company has warned it could affect water supplies in part of in Eden.

Several schools closed today as a precaution, but the water company says no customers have been without water supply so far today.

Image source, United Utilities

News and Star
Newspaper

A 16-year-old girl had a bottle of water thrown over her and was racially abused, external, police say.