The Sands Centre in Carlisle is closed for business after Storm Desmond caused severe flooding and travel disruption across Cumbria in north west England.

A post on the venue’s Facebook page states that it is surrounded by water and that all approach roads are extremely.

Britain’s emergency response committee met on Sunday after prolonged heavy rain caused widespread flooding in northwest England and forced emergency services to evacuate residents from their homes.

The meeting was called after storms battered the country overnight, killing one man and leaving hundreds of homes flooded and without power. Police declared a major incident and coastguards were called in to rescue stranded residents.

Elizabeth Truss, environment secretary, said the government committee had been called to “urgently assess the scale of the floods and ensure the response remains coordinated, effective and gets help to those affected as quickly as possible.”

Source: Conference News.