Cumbria flooded roads 'extremely dangerous'

A number of roads remain flooded across Cumbria and drivers are being warned not to attempt to get past them.

About 25 were impassable with vehicles "aquaplaning" in the standing water, Cumbria Police said.

A number of flood warnings, the second highest threat level, and flood alerts are in place across the county.

Ch Insp David Bosson urged motorists to "not in any circumstance ignore road closure signs and continue on their journey".

"Roads are closed for your safety," he said.

Driving through flood water was "extremely dangerous as you cannot determine the depth," he added.

Cumbria mountain rescue volunteers helping in Yorkshire had shown "courage and determination"

Mountain rescue volunteers from Cumbria have been helping evacuate homes across the north of England, including York city centre.

Richard Warren, from the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association, said the 2009 floods in the county had been "a bit of a wake-up call for mountain rescue".

About £500,000 had since been invested in equipment and training volunteers.

The rescue of an elderly man from a Land Rover caught in flood water in Mytholmroyd showed "the courage and determination needed by our volunteers to actually go and save lives", he said.

"That gentleman that was saved from that Land Rover was a really lucky man."

The Army was called in over Christmas to support efforts to protect parts of Cumbria against further flooding

The River Eden in Appleby overtopped on Saturday night and the Reverend Sarah Lunn said the town was living with the almost constant threat of flooding.

She said: "People are very resilient but people are also very, very tired now and I think it's the fact that it's the unknown.

"We're waiting to see what happens in two or three days time again so nobody can really recover and look forward until we know we're going to get a dry patch."

About 40 properties were thought to be at risk of flooding but most have been vacant since Storm Desmond.

Ben Lukey from the Environment Agency, said river levels in Cumbria were receding but there was further heavy rain expected.

"Into Wednesday we're expecting further heavy rain and we'll be monitoring that carefully and considering whether to deploy further resources into the Cumbria area," he said.