Sun, 22 Nov 2009 5:21p.m.
By Laura Turner
There are serious concerns for the safety of bridges across Britain's flood-ravaged lake district.
Almost 2000 bridges in Cumbria in northwest England are the subject of safety investigations, with four already collapsed and residents told to stay off any others or risk their lives.
Any attempt to clean up has been short-lived, heavy rain continuing to fall across the Cumbria region.
Residents have been packing their bags, trying to salvage what they can from homes trashed by the floods.
Any hopes of Christmas trading have been washed away, with store after store under water.
But it's not just homes and businesses ruined - 1800 bridges across the region are now under urgent examination with fears surging water will erode their foundations.
"We've got structural engineers out all week and all next week as well, picking up identified problems and deciding what to do with them," says Scott Steedman, Civil Engineers' Union.
And it's not just water causing problems, but the debris washing up with it.
The devastated areas received a visit today from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He is pledging £1 million in flood relief money.
"I'm determined that we do everything we can to help clean up and to put the flood recovery plan into being as quickly as possible."
And while some animals have turned up unscathed by the floods, specialist RSPCA teams are trawling houses to find others left behind.
Emergency services are also reporting sightseers arriving in the area with canoes. They have been warned to leave the area.
And with more heavy rain forecast, the worst flooding in 1000 years is far from over.
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