RESIDENTS in a rural valley fear they could be cut off by flooding this winter because vital repairs have been left unfinished, reports Michaela Robinson-Tate.

Villagers in Longsleddale are angry that work to fix a wall badly damaged in January's floods has not been completed.

Cumbria County Council has admitted that it started work on the project too late, and the project has now been halted for the winter because of a risk to crayfish in the river Sprint.

John Farmer, who is clerk to the village's parish meeting, said that when the Sprint flooded in January, a wall that stops the river overflowing on to the road during heavy rain was severely damaged. It had sunk and was leaning to one side.

Residents asked the county council to repair the wall, but the work did not start until mid-September, which was more than eight months after the damage was done.

After carrying out what Mr Farmer said was a "temporary" repair, the council said it would not return until next May to complete the work. The Sprint is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and there are restrictions on working in the river because of crayfish.

According to Mr Farmer the site was also left in a "terrible state" with cones, signs and other paraphernalia left behind.

Although the river floods every winter, Mr Farmer said it was feared that the condition of the wall would make this more severe.

Mr Farmer said the work could be done without entering the river.

Mr Farmer has written to CCC chief executive Peter Stybelski but had yet to receive a full reply.

CCC spokesman Justin Hawkins agreed that there had been "arguably unacceptable delays" with the repair.

He said that SSSI rules prevented the council carrying out further work until the beginning of May, unless there was sufficient deterioration for it to be declared an emergency.

Mr Hawkins said the council's assessment showed that the work had to be done from the river side of the wall and could not be tackled in a different way.

See The Westmorland Gazette for the full story.