FAMILIES living in an area devastated by floods in 2009 have told how they fear for their homes.

Residents of North Lonsdale Street in Ulverston watched in horror on Monday as water from a nearby swollen beck flooded fields and inched closer to their properties by the minute.

They claim the area has been neglected by the Environment Agency and fear that when winter arrives, their houses will be vulnerable again.

South Ulverston still bears the scars of flooding that took place in 2009.

Homes that were flooded out still lie empty nearly seven years after water rushed into people's houses.

On this occasion the damage was not on the same scale as 2009, but three homes and two garages were flooded in spite of efforts to protect them.

Ray Doyle, 40, who works at the nearby GSK plant, has only recently moved into the area with his wife and two small children.

He had heard from his neighbours about the past flooding, but was still shocked at how quickly the water came up from Dragley Beck.

He said: "Everyone was just shocked at how it went from an empty field to water flooding over the brick wall in just over an hour.

"When the water gets over it's over, there is only one place it's going to go.

"If the drains can't cope, it's going into people's houses."

Mr Doyle spoke about the fears his neighbours have over the threat of future flooding.

Many people living in south Ulverston are elderly, or have families.

Even as the flood waters receded and summer sun began to shine again, frightened residents were taking stock of what could have been.

Mr Doyle said: "There were a lot of frightened faces, I saw a woman today who was petrified."

Residents of south Ulverston feel they are at risk of being forgotten by the organisations that are meant to protect them.

Councillors and homeowners feel there was little or no warning about the deluge of water that came their way.

The Environment Agency says it has tried to address these concerns. A spokesman for the EA said: "When a flood alert is issued it comes from the Met Office data that we get."

Met Office data is used to project where the greatest risk of flooding will be. However in cases of short torrential downpours, there will be less warning.

The relatively short warning that was given was "a consequence of the volume of rain that fell," the spokesman said.

The EA has assured the people of Ulverston they are working on a programme to minimise the risk of flooding.

The spokesman said: "In terms of the overall work in Ulverston, we are working very hard on a south Ulverston scheme."

Read about the flash floods that threatened hundreds of homes across the area.

The Ulverston Mayor Mark Wilson asks 'Why were residents not warned about flooding?'