TEN million pounds has now been raised to help people rebuild their lives using money from the Cumbria Community Foundation's flood recovery appeal.

The majority of the cash came from more than 20,000 individual donations, which the Government then match funded up to £4.7m. A donation of £400 from the Mayor of Cockermouth Julie Laidlaw pushed the figure past the £10m mark.

So far more than £4m has been given in grants to more than two thousand people across the county.

Painter and tiler Chris Ansell, 34, of Sandylands Road in Kendal, saw his house ruined by flood waters due to a blocked culvert.

Chris, who lives with his partner Fay and three children, had spent three years doing the house up, only to see everything on the ground floor destroyed as four feet of water swept though the house.

He said: “I felt sick and disheartened after the floods, I did all the work on the house myself and it was all gone in the space of hours of it raining.

"Until it happens to you, you don’t realise how devastating it is for families to see their lives in a skip.

"I was lucky, the insurance paid out, but then there were extra costs above the settlement caused by the dehumidifiers.

"I took out a credit card and ran up debts before I applied for the Flood Grant. The volunteers at the Encouragement Cabin helped me apply and I received a very generous amount which I am very grateful for."

Chris lives in one of 900 homes in the Mintsfeet and Far Cross wards in Kendal that was affected. He and his family moved back in earlier this month, five months after the floods.

Andy Beeforth, Chief Executive of Cumbria Community Foundation, said: "When we started the appeal we hoped to raise £1m, to have raised ten times that amount and to be able to help people across Cumbria to recover from the devastating floods is amazing.

"I am humbled by the generosity of our donors that have allowed us to help so many people. Raising £10m means we will be able to invest in projects that have a lasting benefit for our flood affected communities.

"I know that some people are still a long way off returning to normal and I’d say to come and ask for help, everything you need to know about how to apply for a grant is on our website."