Prince Charles visits flood-hit areas of Cumbria

The royal visitor saw for himself the devastation wreaked by Storm Desmond earlier this month as Dorothy and David Richardson, both aged 72, showed him around the downstairs of their home on Warwick Road in Carlisle.

The neat three bed semi, flooded for the third time as the storm hit, was left under more than two feet of water.

It means the couple will not be home for Christmas - it will be September until their house of almost 50 years is habitable again.

Accompanied by four of their grandchildren, Matthew, 18, Lucy, 14, Molly, 11 and Henry, aged eight, they showed Charles the holes in the bare floorboards of their now empty downstairs living rooms and kitchen, still drying out until the flooring and plaster can be replaced.

Mrs Richardson told Charles the warnings of flooding meant many possessions were saved by being taken upstairs before water came through the floor and doors - but the TV and other furniture were ruined.

The retired nurse said: "It feels a bit surreal really, but it's very kind of him to come and think about us. He has a special feeling about Cumbria."

Mr Richardson added: "Lovely to see him. He had no reason to come had he? But to climb in his helicopter and what have you and the cars.

"He's very easy to speak to and very interesting."

Granddaughter Lucy added: "He was very genuine by coming up and helping out with other people's losses."

Mrs Richardson said the couple bought the house for £2,400 in 1966 when the couple were married - then were flooded for the first time two years later, then again in 2005 when four foot of water engulfed their home - and again in December.

The couple are now living with their daughter, Joanne Routledge, in the village of Scotby nearby - who will be hosting Christmas dinner for 12 this year.

One "silver lining" to the affair is that the daughter's husband, Brian Routledge, owns a skip business - which are much in need as yellow skips are now scattered up and down streets and roads across the city.

Next door the front garden of Keith Wright's house resembled a scrap yard - mainly the wreckage of a £20,000 brand new kitchen fitted in his house - a week before the floods hit.

Holding his dog, Buster, a two-year-old Pomeranian Chihuahua cross, Mr Wright, 62, who runs a home care agency business with wife Brenda, 42, met and spoke to Charles.

Mr Wright said: "I thought he appeared very very genuine. I'm a monarchist but he did appear genuine. I'm told possibly he could not get here because of the weather but he really, really wanted to come.

"He was just very apologetic and just hoping things were going to work out for the future.

"I'm quite an optimistic person by heart. My wife is very upset."

The couple are currently living in a hotel but move into rented property next week.

They will eat their Christmas Dinner at a local Premier Inn.

Earlier Charles heard about the dramatic rescue of an elderly woman trapped underneath her stair lift as the floods hit.

Members of the armed forces told the Prince how the woman had been trapped for five hours and floodwater had risen to her chest.

They were able to pull the disabled woman from the floodwater and stretcher her out of the house on her dining table.

Lance Corporal Harry Kenyon, of Blenheim Company, 2nd Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, told Prince Charles that she displayed the stoic spirit that has come to define the brave Cumbrians hit by Storm Desmond.

"It was good to be able to tell the Prince of Wales that people here are very spirited, even in the most desperate of situations," L/Corp Kenyon said.

After hearing the officers were able to carry the woman to safety before she was hurt, he said: "Thank goodness."

Charles also visited the home of Barry Cookson, 58, on Warwick Road.

Afterwards Mr Cookson, a retired BT engineer, said: "What a lovely man. He really seemed to care. He asked in detail about how I am coping, what support we've had.

"I didn't know what to expect but he was very kind and I got the sense that he really wants to be here. I heard that he specifically asked to come before Christmas - that's how much he's bothered about us.

"It's a great way to shed light on the fact that, on Christmas week, we are still struggling."

Later Charles travelled to nearby Greystone Community Centre, where residents sought refuge, to meet members of the emergency services who were called out at the height of the floods.

Representatives from charities including the Salvation Army and Red Cross who provided support and members of the military shared a cup of tea with the royal visitor.

Earlier this month, Charles made an undisclosed private donation to the Cumbria Community Foundation to help those affected, and his Prince's Countryside Fund also released £40,000 from its emergency fund and launched a public appeal, which has raised a further £20,000.

Charles' trip to Cumbria began with a visit to the McVitie's factory in Carlisle, a major local employer, to learn how floods affected the business.

The Prince's Charity, Business in the Community, is supporting Cumbria's recovery through its Business Emergency Resilience Group (BERG).

BERG was set up in 2009 after the floods in Cockermouth to help businesses and communities across the UK to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies.

His final visit of the day was to nearby Appleby-in-Westmorland to view the flood damage there and learn about ongoing repairs.

Storm Desmond wreaked havoc in homes and businesses either side of the banks of River Eden which flows through the middle of Appleby-in-Westmorland.

Charles spoke to those affected by unprecedented flooding in the historic market town which sits in the picturesque Eden Valley, and learned for himself about the recovery effort and the strong community spirit which is seeing life slowly return to normal.

Among the many flooded properties on The Sands side of the bridge was Bridge End newsagents, where owner Richard Maguire explained to the Prince that the waters reached his chest level at its height.

Mr Maguire told him: "It took us by surprise. At one stage we were a little bit concerned, I was trying to get everyone out.

"Within a few days we were open. I wanted to get open as quickly as possible.

"It is great that you are showing solidarity."

Charles took up Mr Maguire's offer of a free copy of the local Cumberland and Westmorland Herald weekly newspaper before he strolled on to Appleby Bridge and viewed the river levels beneath, which thankfully were far below the heights reached more than a fortnight ago.

The bridge was closed temporarily amid fears it suffered structural damage and motorists were faced with a 40-minute detour to get to the short distance the other side before it was declared safe.

Also open for business again on The Sands was the local garage, Roy Ashley Motors, where waters reached the height of their pumps and swept one of their Land Rover vehicles into the car showroom window.

Charlotte Ashley and her husband, Roy Ashley junior, told Charles about the battle to clear the flood damage to the long-standing family business.

She said: "We told him that we fortunate enough to save the diesel and petrol tanks, and £125,000 worth of cars. The pumps are working now again but only intermittently.

"He said that he thought we had done really well to get open again so quickly.

"I think it's good that he is visiting Appleby as it brings a little bit of awareness to the town. It's nice to be thought about."

Town mayor Hugh Potts, 65, and his wife Anne, who showed the Prince around the town, were themselves flooded and were forced to seek shelter upstairs in their home with 4ft of water downstairs.

He said: "It was a big honour for the town and we are all delighted he is here.

"It means a great deal to everyone. He was here for the people that had fought the flood and had done their bit to help the community.

"He was amazed at how soon the shops had been up and running."