FLOODING in South Lakeland has left residents 'devastated' and bracing themselves for further problems this weekend.

On Carling Steps in Burneside, near Kendal, the driveway of Cheryl Major's property was flooded for the third time in eight days.

Her carpet had already been soaked through by earlier flooding and she estimated it would cost around £2,000 to replace.

"Everything else (in the house) has either been lifted high up or the house has been tanked, it has happened that often," she said.

"It's just horrendous. I'm sick of it now."

Miss Major, who runs Bootleggers bar in Kendal, added: "Obviously I can't go to work either when this is going on so I'm out of pocket that way."

Her mother, who lives on the same road, added: "It's really worrying. It's a living nightmare."

Another Burneside resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "We are just sick of it. We really are. This flood defence (scheme) is taking forever. Why don't we just get on with it and get it done?"

She added: "I think people have got sick of being told 'it's going to rain, it's going to rain'.

"Everybody's left the sand bags from last time. Nobody's taken them back."

Further south, at Holme and surrounding areas, people were facing similar problems.

Roger Bingham, county councillor for Lower Kentdale, said: "The floods here are as bad as I can remember, except for perhaps during Storm Desmond in 2015.

"The particularly bad bits are at Wings School [near Whassett], especially at Hang Bridge over the River Bela.

"All of Bela Valley is awash. The road through Clawthorpe, near Burton-in-Kendal, is also very bad."

On Trinity Drive, excess water from Holme Beck appeared to have diverted itself through a woman's property, flooding her garden and soaking the ground beneath her floorboards.

"I'm worried it's going to flood the house," said the homeowner, who did not wish to be named.

"I'm worried about how I am going to dry it out without lifting all the flooring up.

"There's electrics. There's gas around that corner bit - is it safe to use the gas?"

Also on Trinity Drive, Kevin Blackburn's garden, through which the beck usually flows in a controlled manner, had flooded.

Mr Blackburn said he was 'devastated' and that problems on his property began during Storm Desmond in 2015. He feared flooding in the years since had damaged the foundations of his house and pointed to a number of cracks which he said had appeared in the last six months.

"If we want to move we can't move because nobody's going to want to buy this and I'm just concerned by the way the house is sinking," he said. "My wife's just back out of hospital after having a kidney transplant and we can't do with damp conditions."

Things show no sign of subsiding in the coming days, with the Met Office forecasting heavy rain all day in Cumbria tomorrow.