NW England Great Flood
Residents in the flood-hit northwest England began returning to their homes but police warned it could take years to recover from the devastation left by the heaviest rainfall on record. Eighteen schools were closed as local authorities struggled to restore basic services across the county of Cumbria, where many areas were cut off at the weekend after swollen rivers brought down bridges and turned roads into canals. All Cumbria’s 1,800 bridges had to be checked after several collapsed.
A new UK 24-hour rainfall record was attained at Seathwaith, Cumbria with 314 mm. The previous record was held by Martinstown, Dorset with 279 mm on 18th July 1955