Storm Desmond: Army drafted in as schools closed and homes evacuated amid flooding chaos

Patients in the north-west have been warned not to attempt to travel to hospital unless 'absolutely necessary'

Residents of Cumbria struggle to cope with the devastation caused by flooding (Getty)

A week of heavy rainfall is threatening the north of England with more flooding, after the army was drafted in to rescue stranded families and help medical staff get to hospital.

Patients in the north-west have been warned not to attempt to travel to hospital on Monday unless “absolutely necessary”, after a record-breaking onslaught from Storm Desmond led flood defences to fail over the weekend.

Hundreds of families were temporarily left homeless as they were evacuated from houses devastated when lakes and rivers burst their banks in Cumbria, Lancashire and other nearby areas.

And more than 60,000 houses were left without power - though Electricity North West said connections were restored with 45,000 of these by Monday morning.

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service said 26 schools would be closed for the start of the week due to flooding, while homeowners have been advised not to return to flooded houses until it is declared safe.

A rain gauge at Honister in Cumbria showed that 34.1cm of rain fell in just 24 hours between Friday and Saturday. If verified, it will be a new UK record, breaking the previous 24-hour record of 31.6cm at Seathwaite, Cumbria, during the floods of 2009.

“It’s an unprecedented amount of water,” local MP Rory Stewart told the BBC.

The Prime Minister David Cameron will chair a meeting of the Government’s emergency Cobra committee on the situation this morning, and last night paid tribute to the “tremendous response from local communities”.

“The thoughts of the whole country will be with the people in Cumbria and the North-west who have suffered so terribly from the devastating storms this weekend,” Mr Cameron said. “The Government is doing everything it can to help those who have seen their homes flooded, and to try and prevent further damage.

Margaret McCraken, who was helped from her home in Broad Street in Carlisle by members of the armed forces (PA)

Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss said: “The Environment Agency, local authorities and the emergency services are already working around the clock to protect properties, help those already affected and reduce the risk to others.”

About 350 soldiers from the 2nd Battalion the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment were dispatched to one of the worst affected towns, Carlisle, along with mountain rescue teams to assist victims and a Chinook helicopter.

A major incident was declared by Cumbria Police, after more than 190 flood warnings were put in place. Towns and villages across the county were flooded as bridges collapsed and landslides were triggered.

The RNLI rescued six people including a pregnant woman and two children from a remote bungalow in Levens, Cumbria, after they were stranded for 12 hours and were using flashlights to signal for help. In Eamont Bridge, south of Penrith, 150 people were rescued from a flooded caravan park.

Police divers were also called to search the River Kent at Staveley for an elderly man who may fallen into the water – with fears he could be the second fatality caused by the bad weather after a 90-year-old man was blown into the path of a bus in London on Saturday.

The NHS in Lancashire also declared a major incident after flooding caused power cuts at hospitals and stopped doctors and nurses from getting to work.

The Royal Lancaster Infirmary was running on reserve generators. North Cumbria University Hospital declared a major incident and Cumberland Infirmary was also on back-up power.

About 55,000 homes in Lancaster lost power and fire crews dealt with more than 300 incidents across Lancashire. The Army took one man to hospital after he collapsed in a diabetic coma.

The British Red Cross set up rest centres in several towns and the NHS issued an urgent call for extra doctors. Patients were warned to stay away from A&E.

It is the third time in a decade that Cumbria has been hit by devastating floods. More than 90 flood warnings were still in place in the North-west last night, including 46 severe warnings with a threat of danger to life. The Met Office has issued a yellow warning of further heavy rain.

Superintendent Mark Pannone, from Cumbria Police, said: “This isn’t like 2005 or 2009, where the floods were in one area; this is a countywide emergency.”

Flood defences were overrun in Carlisle, where 4,000 properties had no electricity, and police said there was a “major risk” that two substations could flood – cutting power to 60,000 homes.

The Carlisle United Biscuits factory was reported to be flooded to a depth of 5ft. Electricity North West was forced to launch planned power outages to prevent a blackout across the town.

David Wildridge, his wife Melanie and children Maddie, 11, and Ayden, nine, who was carrying a teddy bear, had grabbed a few bags and their dog Fletch before being rescued by boat in Carlisle. Mr Wildridge said: “The flood water came up through the floor, about a foot of water. There’s nothing you can do about it. We just took the advice of the rescuers and left.”

About 80 homes were also flooded in the village of Braithwaite, near Keswick, which was cut off by water. About 40 people were stranded in the Coledale Inn overnight.

Landlord Geoff Mawdsley told The Independent: “Water was right up to the bridge. It’s a worrying time for a lot of people. They have spent the day bailing out their homes.”

Roger Halliday, who runs the post office in Grasmere, escaped after cycling home through the storm, but returned today to find the post office under water.

“It’s been horrible,” he told The Independent. “We’re just trying to clean up a layer of mud from the floor. The church was flooded and William Wordsworth’s grave was completely submerged.”