Warning of more heavy rain after flash flooding and landslips in Cumbria

A landslip has blocked the Carlisle-Settle railway line after a night of heavy downpours.

Around 150 tonnes of earth and rock collapsed onto the tracks between Dent and Ribblehead.

Trains between Carlisle and Leeds are currently affected, and a replacement bus service is running between Kirkby Stephen and Ribblehead.

Landslips: why do they happen and how do we fix them?

Landslips occur when heavy rain causes the ground to become waterlogged. When this happens the earth becomes heavy & the water forces apart grains of soil. The earth becomes loose & unstable leading to a landslide.

Engineers are currently fixing the issue by removing debris from the track .

After the rock and earth is taking away, they will check the railway drainage and assess the structure of the embankment, which may need to be strengthened and stabilised before the railway is reopened.

The Great North Rail Project say the line will be closed until tomorrow morning. (1 August)

A yellow weather warning for rain has been issued for parts of central and northern England, while a similar alert for thunderstorms is in place in Scotland.

There are 10 flood warnings in place across the UK – from North Yorkshire, Lancashire and the West Midlands – with the Environment Agency saying local flooding is possible due to the thunderstorms and outbreaks of heavy rain.

The Met Office said:

Our weatherman Ross Hutchinson has the latest on a very wet day ahead:

The rain is set to ease later on this afternoon, but for now the advice is to check before you travel.