Published at 16:19, Thursday, 04 October 2012

FLOODING stopped work at BAE Systems after heavy rain battered Barrow, Millom and the South Lakes.

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BAE’s Devonshire Dock Hall was evacuated on Tuesday night following extensive flooding inside, specifically on the main hall floor.

Some damage was caused to the electrical supply.

A spokesman said no work would take place until it had been cleared.

However, back-shift and night-shift workers were told that they should report to work last night as usual.

The spokesman said: “All employees were safely evacuated and later instructed to go home and there were no casualties.

“The clean up is progressing well, with subsequent damage being rectified.

“There has been no damage to the submarines as a result of the flooding, and areas of the facility are gradually being re-opened. “

Tuesday night’s deluge caused chaos for people living across the area.

Rail commuters were forced to endure delays when heavy rain triggered a landslide that blocked tracks between Barrow and Dalton.

National Rail was alerted to the landslide near the Furness Abbey tunnel between 9pm and 10pm on Tuesday.

The landslide caused some cancellations and significant delays to train services and an excavator had to be called in to clean up the mud.

A National Rail spokesman said it was able to get train services back to normal by 9.40am yesterday.

In Dalton, people were again left scrambling to protect their properties from water damage.

Many homeowners used sandbags leftover from the August floods in an desperate attempt to halt cascading water from gushing into their houses.

Newton Road, Juniper Close and Olive Close were among the streets worst affected when the ferocious storm hit just after 7pm.

A Juniper Close resident, who did not wish to be named, said nothing had been done in the last two months to mitigate flooding in her area.

“We live in fear every time it rains,” she said.

Former Dalton mayor John Millar and current deputy mayor Ann Thurlow were out and about yesterday morning surveying the damage and speaking to residents.

Councillor Millar said United Utilities and Cumbria County Council must act to ensure the drainage problems in Dalton were fixed.

“We’re still waiting for a reply (from the August floods),” he said. “The biggest worry that we’ve got as a parish council and resident is who is going to take on responsibility for this.

“I feel for the residents because you have got to think down the road their insurance is going to shoot up because of this.

“Something’s got to be done and it’s no good United Utilities passing the buck or (Cumbria) council passing the buck – they can’t keep doing that.”

In Ulverston, heavy rain overnight caused roads to flood as several drains backed up.

Some, including North Lonsdale Road, cleared by early afternoon, although Steel Street and Priory Road were both partially under water later in the day.

There were also reports of flooding on the A591 between Ambleside and Ings causing delays.

In Millom yesterday people spent a third day ‘on guard’ in case of further flash flooding.

Homeowners at the bottom end of Holborn Hill were tending to their sandbag barriers at the front doors of their houses.

Heavy overnight rain transformed the bottom end of the street into a stream of flood water, according to residents.

And although no water had seeped in to their homes, neighbours helped maintain each other’s sandbag defences.

Meanwhile, the Barrow Archive and Local Studies Centre, in Duke Street, has had to close due to a leaking roof caused by the heavy rain.

Barrow Borough Council said it was likely it would remain closed for the rest of this week and return to normal opening next Tuesday.

Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk