Lincolnshire fire crews sent to help in Cumbria Floods

Three water rescue teams including 15 specially trained firefighters from Boston, Sleaford and Gainsborough travelled to the area after the county’s emergency services declared a major incident and asked for help.

They have been working in two badly-affected areas of Carlisle with crews from from Merseyside, Humberside, Staffordshire, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue and the RNLI

Dave Gilbert from Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, who is at the scene, said: “We’ve rescued hundreds of people from their homes and taken them to safety.

“In Corporation street, the water was so high - six or seven feet deep- the only way to rescue people was from their first floor windows.

“We decided to use fridges to get people from their staircases out to our boats and then on to safety.

“This morning, we were deployed at 4am and have been working on the east side of Warwick road in Carlisle. The boat crews from Sleaford and Boston are working through the affected area, checking properties and confirming people and locations. We’ve also providing support around a bridge which is not structurally sound.

“We haven’t seen heavy rain yet today, but the situation in Cumbria remains extremely serious and challenging.

“The Environment Agency’s categorisation for the area remains at ‘red’.”