Police officer dead after bridge collapses in floods
The officer died when one of a number of bridges collapsed under the weight of water
London: Raging floods engulfed northern England's picturesque Lake District on Friday following the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in Britain, killing a police officer and trapping dozens in their swamped homes.
A search was under way for the police officer that died after a bridge collapsed during floods in Cumbria, north west England, police said on Friday.
The officer disappeared when one of a number of bridges collapsed under the weight of water following rapid rainfall in a short period of time.
Life boats and helicopters were used to rescue hundreds of people from their homes in towns and villages in the picturesque Lake District after 175 mm (6.90 inches) of rain fell in about 12 hours.
One witness in the town of Cockermouth told BBC radio he saw the water level rise rapidly from his top floor window.
"In the space of about 5 minutes from there being puddles on the main street there was about an inch of water right across it, and then it rose very quickly.
"Within a very short space of time people were wading knee deep and then belly deep. And it was going up so fast it actually got very scary. The rate of increase was quite frightening."
He said he had seen debris flowing down the high street, including Christmas decorations, pub stools and boxes of chocolates.
"Obviously the situation is very serious," Hilary Benn, environment minister told BBC television.
"We are particularly concerned for the officer. We have seen extraordinary amounts of rainfall."
Six severe flooding warnings were in place for north west England, and a further 25 flood warnings, the Environment Agency said.
The worst affected areas are Cockermouth, Kendal, Keswick and Workington, where the male officer went missing.
Gas supplies have been cut in Workington and roads across the area have been closed.
A further 100mm of rain is expected over the north west by early Friday, with further unsettled weather and severe gales predicted for Cumbria, western parts of Scotland and north Wales.
