A curated collection of images has recently been released online showing some of Barrow's worst disasters of the last century captured by local photographers.

The 'damage and destruction' collection is part of the Sankey online archive taken by local photographers, the Sankeys, who captured the events either during or shortly after they'd happened.

The black and white images show natural disasters, industrial accidents and misfortunes on sea, land and air.

The shocking photographs show just how much emergency services have evolved over the last century - with one image showing a horse-drawn fire engine and the methods - and crowds of people - it took to clear a disaster site.

Sailors can also be seen rowing to the mighty 512ft Mayfly airship disaster that broke in half. The sheer size of the vessel meant that it capsized further once extracted from the water months later. 

One image shows a 'men-only' floating public swimming baths, which once sat above Ramsden Dock, cascaded into the waters below after a particularly strong gale in 1914. 

A damaged Model T Ford also shows what a car crash looked like upon vehicles being introduced onto public roads during.

A horrifying image was captured a few decades later showing the aftermath of a fire onboard the SS Oronsay ocean liner which can be seen resting against Buccleuch Dock in 1950 after burning for three days.

Anyone wanting to use the Sankey photos in a book, online or in an exhibition need to ask permission to use the photos from Cumbria Archives and there may be a charge.

Downloading images for personal use is fine however.  The full details on copyright are here: https://www.sankeyphotoarchive.uk/contact/.