PICTURES of a retired Kendal man swimming through his flooded kitchen have helped to boost Cumbria's flood appeal.

In the aftermath of last December's Storm Desmond, the photographs of Peter Clarkson chest-deep in cold, murky flood water went viral and even appeared on the BBC's current affairs quiz, Have I Got News for You.

Hat Trick Productions, the company behind the show, paid Mr Clarkson £300 for featuring the pictures of him afloat, as his kettle, crockery and jar of pickle bobbed around nearby.

The retired Vodafone worker has now donated the proceeds - £150 each - to Kendal Mountain Rescue Team and the £10 million Cumbria Flood Recovery Appeal.

Mr Clarkson had put on his swimming trunks to wade through the swamped cellar kitchen at his Parr Street home, to get the sump pumps working again.

"I just thought, blimey, this is awful; what can I do for a laugh?" said Mr Clarkson. So, next-door neighbour John Parkinson captured the moment on camera, and the light-hearted snaps appeared first on the Gazette website before being published in the Times and Sunday Times, Daily Express, Sun and Daily Star, as well as cropping up in a Belgian newspaper and even in China.

Since the flood, Mr Clarkson and his wife Jill have been managing with no electricity or oven in their kitchen, and they hope to build a new, flood-resilient kitchen extension at their home.

l THE Cumbria Community Foundation is still receiving an average of 20 applications a day for flood recovery grants six months after Storm Desmond.

More than 4,000 applications have been processed according to the foundation, with £4.6million plus being awarded to support 2,500 households and 81 community organisations.

Andy Beeforth, chief executive for the foundation, said: "As well as giving grants for essential household items, our whole ethos is to be helpful, supportive and understanding of people’s circumstances."

For details contact the Flood Grants Team on 01900 820820 or email grants@cumbriafoundation.org.