Families left homeless, schools close and businesses are cut off: As the flood chaos continues, the victims tell of their despair E

Thousands of people hit by the 'biblical' floods last week are today desperately trying to recover their possessions as more rain was set to move in across much of Britain.
People from Cockermouth, the worst-hit town, were allowed back into their homes for the first time this morning - although only after sewage, structural and electrical checks.
The torrential downpours have left some homeless and many houses and businesses cut off thanks to bridge collapses caused by the record rainfall.
With more rain on the way today, some 16 bridges and at least 25 roads were closed across Cumbria which was worst hit by the floods last Friday.
Council officials said 13 primary schools and five secondary schools are shut and an urgent safety review of the 1,800 bridges in the country is under way amid fears more could collapse.
Workington MP Tony Cunningham said: 'My major concern is residents who are cut off. Things are getting desperate.'

Ruin: Emmie Short surveys the mess in her kitchen after she returned to her flooded home in Cockermouth

Workington has been cut off since Friday when its Northside Bridge collapsed and Calva Bridge was closed amid fears it would follow, causing serious detours.
There are fears the Calva bridge could be the next to fall because it already has a sheer crack in it and has sunk more than a foot in height over the past three days.

Soldiers from 39 Regiment the Royal Artillery have been sent to the flood-hit towns and villages to help emergency workers.
But Cumbria's police chief Craig Mackey warned today that some of the necessary repair work could take years to complete because of the damage to infrastructure.
'We will be working with our communities for weeks, months, and in some cases years to come. It is clear that this was an unprecedented event in terms of the flooding, the level of flooding,' he said.
Gordon Brown today said the Department of Transport would set aside extra funding to help rebuild crucial links and that the Government would spend £800million on flood defences in 2010.

Many residents returned to their homes for the first time yesterday to find their personal possessions ruined and rooms caked in sludge.
But some have not even been that lucky. Around 60 people evacuated as water levels rose are still sheltering in two main reception centres.

Many are concerned that they will end up spending Christmas in B*Bs or caravans while expensive repairs - which could last weeks or months - are carried out.
There are fears others families stranded by the flood have already started to run out of food and will not be able to buy more because of the disrupted transport links.
More rain is due today, although forecasters say it will not be enough to raise river levels. One remaining 'severe' flood warning is in place on parts of the River Eamont in Cumbria.

Overwhelmed: The deluge left a tide of rubbish and debris strewn outside homes in Cockermouth

Meanwhile, in Wales, the search for a 21-year-old woman who fell into a fast-moving river restarted this morning.

Fire brigades and mountain rescue teams on foot, in a kayak and in a helicopter combed the River Usk in Brecon last night but were forced to stop due to fading light.
Severe weather was blamed for the death of an experienced kayaker, Chris Wheeler, who drowned in a swollen moorland river in Devon after more than an inch of rain fell in less than three hours.

Mr Wheeler, 46, had been negotiating a challenging stretch of water on the River Dart when his kayak was pinned against a tree and flipped over.
The Environment Agency said the rainfall in Cumbria 'would have overwhelmed any defence' and warned river levels would stay high across the region for the next few days.

Chief executive of Cumbria County Council, Jill Stannard, said the damage caused would run into 'tens of millions of pounds'.
She revealed the authorities are still trying to trace dozens of people who still are not accounted for, although she said they were hoping they may be staying with friends or family.
Miss Stannard reassured people worried about seeing their doctor that they would be able to get their prescriptions and said they were trying to get schools open as soon as possible.

Clear-up: Flood waters left behind a carpet of mud in many homes in the market town

Around 1,300 properties were flooded and 800 were left without power, although utility workers were battling to restore services.
Damage to electricity substations meant homes not directly flooded were now cut off. Flood damage to cables and transmitters has also hit mobile phone signals.
At their home in Cockermouth, Emmie and Guy Short, both 44, surveyed the mess in what was previously their children's play room.

Escape: Helen Liptrot and Ken Fisher fled their home through a window when the flooding began

Dirty, sodden and ruined household items and possessions were piled up everywhere.
The couple's four children, aged between two and 12, had all been 'posted' like a letter through a 3ft x 2ft living-room window as the water came rushing in.
Last night they were staying with relatives.
Mrs Short, a childminder, said: 'The kids are deeply shocked. The river has come through our house, for a time it was part of the river.
'The girls have been frightened of wind and rain following an accident in the Loire last year when our tent was hit by a falling tree and blown away.
'We've always been able to tell them, "Everything is OK" during a storm, but we can't say that any more.'
Mrs Short's childminding business is wrecked because she has nowhere to look after the children. She is trying to find a house to rent.

Fighting tears, she added: 'I feel blank, like when my mum died.'
Nearby, Helen Liptrot, 46, and Ken Fisher, 49, who are both managers at the Sellafield nuclear plant, piled their sodden carpets, cushions, chairs, tables and appliances outside as they began the heart-breaking task of clearing mud from their semi-detached home.
They too had escaped through a window as the water rushed into their house on Thursday afternoon. The couple had just spent £10,000 renovating the entire ground floor.

Miss Liptrot said: 'We spent our savings putting in a new floor and sofas and decorating the entire ground floor. The job had only just been finished and everything has now been ruined.
'We are still in a state of shock. I burst into tears occasionally, but it has really not hit home yet.'
Almost all the businesses in the centre of the market town have been ruined and the total repair bill may reach £100million.
John Carlin, 60, expects his 36-bed Allerdale Court Hotel to be closed for at least three months.

During that period his turnover would have totalled around £200,000. The 21 staff he employs also face an uncertain future.
'I am totally depressed about the situation, it's gut-wrenching,' he said.

'The flood will close Cockermouth for six months, it will have a devastating effect on businesses here.'
The Environment Agency - which said 'the phenomenal rainfall would have overwhelmed any defence' - had four severe flood warnings in force yesterday and ten flood warnings.

A spokesman said another two inches of rainfall was expected by this morning, but despite the ground still being saturated it was unlikely to be enough to cause flooding to new properties.

Damage: Yvonne Lambert starts the extensive clean-up of her home in Rubby Street, Cockermouth

Submerged: Aerial views of flooding in Cockermouth, Cumbria, on Friday

'It is possible that some properties that are very close to the river may see some fresh flooding, but that is all,' he said.
'River levels remain high although we believe the worst is now over and we are going to see an improvement as the week goes on.'

Last straw: The owners of this BMW were forced to abandon it near Ambleside when the flooding started, only to return and find thieves had stolen the wheels

An urgent safety review of Cumbria's 1,800 bridges was under way with emergency services warning that one, the Calva Bridge in Workington, could collapse at any time. It has already sunk by about a foot.
The imperilled bridge has left Workington cut off, with a 90-mile journey via Penrith to get from one bank of the river to the other.