SUMMER storms delivered flooding misery early this year to houses across South Lakeland.

Three homes were inundated with water as at least 8mm of rain fell between 7pm and 8pm on Saturday night - what the Met Office officially classed as a "heavy downpour".

Landlady Sarah Benson's spirits were dampened at around 7.30pm as rainwater seeped under the back door of the Farmers Arms pub at Baycliff.

"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 was thwarted because his hose was not long enough.

Mrs Benson said she would have to buy new carpets, an oven and a washing machine which were 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.

In Kendal on Saturday morning fire fighters were called to the 26 Glebe Road where rain water was pouring down the drive and into the house through air bricks.

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 intense rainstorms.

Sancha Tetlow at 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.