SUMMER storms caused flooding in two Furness properties after at least 8mm of rain fell between 7pm and 8pm on Saturday night.

The Met Office officially classed it as a "heavy downpour" and landlady Sarah Benson's spirits were certainly dampened at around 7.30pm when rainwater seeped under the back door of the Farmer's Arms pub at Baycliff, near Bardsea

"It was horrendous," said Ms Benson whose kitchen, utility room and customer toilets were deluged with two to three inches of muddy floodwater.

One regular was called away from his pint to clear drains while a local farmer tried to pump water away using his slurry tank.

But he was thwarted because his hose was not long enough.

Ms Benson said she would have to buy new carpets, an oven and a washing machine, which were all damaged beyond repair.

Meanwhile, at Newton-in-Cartmel, fire-fighters from Kendal were pumping out rainwater that had got into a farmhouse kitchen.

Assistant Divisional Officer Tom Donnelly said the water was lying about 1ft deep in the kitchen because the room was lower than the rest of the house.

At Sand Side near Kirkby-in-Furness, South Lakeland District councillor Jos Curwen reported waterlogged roads around the village's station, although homes were not invaded by floodwaters.

At Grange-over-Sands, residents of flooding trouble-spot Windermere Road had an anxious evening waiting to see if there would be a repeat of serious flooding that swamped around 20 homes two years ago.

"If it had rained for another hour we would have flooded," said John Smith, chairman of the Windermere Road Flooding Action Group.

Mark Richardson, who is responsible for flood management at SLDC, said problems were caused by what appeared to be increasingly frequent and intense rainstorms.

Sancha Tetlow of the Met Office put the weather down to "natural variability" adding that summers were supposed to be getting warmer and drier as a result of climate change!