Campsite evacuated in flood fear

A campsite in Cumbria has been evacuated after heavy rain increased fears of flooding from nearby rivers.

The holidaymakers in Keswick spent Thursday night in a local school.

The evacuation followed a flood warning from the Environment Agency for land and property along the rivers Greta and Derwent.

People are being advised to take action, including moving pets and valuables to safety and using sandbags to block doors and airbricks.

Rain forecast

The Environment Agency's flood warning duty officer David Smith said on Friday: "We monitored the situation yesterday when we issued a flood watch for all rivers and streams, saying there was a chance of flooding.

"After midnight, the river levels began to rise on the River Greta quite rapidly and lake levels were rising on Derwent Water.

"Around 0240 BST we issued a flood warning for the River Greta and that was primarily for the lakeside campsite which is also bordered by the rivers Derwent and Greta.

"The campsite was inundated earlier this morning but the levels are now receding."

The rest of Cumbria is on the lowest level of alert - a flood watch - but Mr Smith urged people to monitor the weather forecasts as a further band of rain is forecast for the region later on Friday.