An urgent investigation into the safety of all 1,800 bridges in Cumbria is under way today after the heaviest rainfall since records began swept several people away and claimed the life of a policeman.People in Cumbria were advised not to return to their homes, as forecasters predicted winds of up to 65mph and more downpours over the coming days that could hamper the recovery effort. There are more than 60 flood warnings in force across south-western and northern parts of England, Scotland and Wales. In South Wales a search is under way for a woman believed to have been swept into the river Usk in Brecon, and an expert canoeist, Chris Wheeler, 46, from Reading, died after being pulled from the river Dart at Newton Abbot in Devon.In Workington, Cumbria, the closure of the Calva bridge cut off the northside of the town and outlying villages. The area's Labour MP John Cunningham, who called the floods "biblical in size", said that help was urgently needed for the Northside estate which has been cut off from the rest of Workington.Households on the sprawl of semis above the river Derwent have started to run out of medication and food, with every bridge to their local shops and health centre either collapsed or closed.The area is still linked to northern Cumbria but all its services come from the main part of Workington, where hundreds of properties have been evacuated and the emergency services continue to work at full stretch.
An urgent investigation into the safety of all 1,800 bridges in Cumbria is under way today after the heaviest rainfall since records began swept several people away and claimed the life of a policeman.
People in Cumbria were advised not to return to their homes, as forecasters predicted winds of up to 65mph and more downpours over the coming days that could hamper the recovery effort. There are more than 60 flood warnings in force across south-western and northern parts of England, Scotland and Wales. In South Wales a search is under way for a woman believed to have been swept into the river Usk in Brecon, and an expert canoeist, Chris Wheeler, 46, from Reading, died after being pulled from the river Dart at Newton Abbot in Devon.
In Workington, Cumbria, the closure of the Calva bridge cut off the northside of the town and outlying villages. The area's Labour MP John Cunningham, who called the floods "biblical in size", said that help was urgently needed for the Northside estate which has been cut off from the rest of Workington.
Households on the sprawl of semis above the river Derwent have started to run out of medication and food, with every bridge to their local shops and health centre either collapsed or closed.
The area is still linked to northern Cumbria but all its services come from the main part of Workington, where hundreds of properties have been evacuated and the emergency services continue to work at full stretch.
It references a famous wartime cartoon by Philip Zec which attacked complaints of the price of petrol and the cost involved. Zec's cartoons lampooning Hitler during the 30s led to him being put on a fairly exclusive list of those who were to be summarily executed following a german invasion of the UK keep to the Fen Causeway
a famous wartime cartoon by Philip Zec which attacked complaints of the price of petrol and the cost involved
Philip Zec
Zec sometimes upset the British government with his cartoons. On 5th March, 1942, the Daily Mirror published a cartoon on the government's decision to increase the price of petrol. The cartoon showed a torpedoed sailor with an oil-smeared face lying on a raft. Zec's message was "Don't waste petrol. It costs lives." Winston Churchill believed that the cartoon suggested that the sailor's life had been put at stake to enhance the profits of the petrol companies. In the House of Commons, Herbert Morrison, the Home Secretary, called it a "wicked cartoon" and Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour, argued that Zec's work was lowering the morale of the armed forces and the general public.
Winston Churchill believed that the cartoon suggested that the sailor's life had been put at stake to enhance the profits of the petrol companies. In the House of Commons, Herbert Morrison, the Home Secretary, called it a "wicked cartoon" and Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour, argued that Zec's work was lowering the morale of the armed forces and the general public.
