Global goals for Cumbria flood group

Eden Flood Volunteers, a volunteer group set up in Cumbria during Storm Desmond, is on the cusp of going global.

The work done by the group to support communities affected by December’s floods has gained local, national and international attention.

David Wilson, who runs networking business Avradel Ltd, became a trustee to the group, and is using his links to showcase how the volunteer’s model could be rolled out in places like the Philippines, Pakistan, India and Uganda, which have regular flood problems.

The model creates one group, set up to act as a central hub for coordinating flood recovery, lwhich links councils, emergency services and charities with other organisations.

Kerryanne Wilde, the charity's chief executive, told The Cumberland News: "It's about using the model set up here in Cumbria and taking it to those countries, making sure they have flood resilience plans in place.

"We would be helping to set them up and create links between businesses and other organisations. These are countries that have horrendous floods and other disasters."

Recently, Cumbria County Council announced that it has handed contracts worth £25 million to companies to carry out essential repairs to flood-hit roads and bridges.