TWO farmers were rescued from low-lying farm land after getting cut off in the middle of a valley by flood water from the swollen River Lune.

Lancashire firefighters and Bay Search & Rescue went to help the two men and a dog, who were stranded in a field near Caton at 2.30pm on Tuesday.

They had been moving their livestock into the safety of a barn when they found that the water levels had increased significantly.

A fire brigade spokesman said: "The barn was situated on high ground which had suddenly become surrounded by ever increasing volumes of fast flowing river water."

The men called the emergency services and the fire service arrived on the scene in less than ten minutes and began making preparations to launch their power boat. Swift water rescue trained crews created an impromptu launch site for the boat to enter the water safely.

The Bay Search and Rescue Team were also mobilised to assist and provide back up. Spotters were used to check there were no floating hazards while a downstream containment team was also sent to the Crook of Lune. The two men and the dog were ferried to safety in an inflatable boat

A number of South Cumbrian homeowners were subjected to more flooding misery as heavy rain saturated the region on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Firefighters were called to reports of flooding on Foxfield Road, Broughton-in-Furness, and Marton, near Lindal-in-Furness.

Watch Manager Mark Nicholson, of Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service, said around a dozen properties on Foxfield Road were affected.

“Surface water on the roads in low areas started flowing into people’s gardens and made it inside some houses, causing damage,” he said.

“Working alongside the property owners we used light portable pumps and a main pump to reduce the water level over three hours.”

Firefighters from Ulverston were called out half an hour later, at 6.45am on Tuesday, to flooding at a property in Snipe Gill, Marton.

Watch Manager Paul Hanby said: “The water came from a culvert in a nearby field – we don’t know whether the pipe was blocked but it came up through the back gardens, into two homes and then seeped into a third.

Flooding caused by heavy overnight rain and several road accidents also caused chaos for commuters on Tuesday morning.

There were long queues on the A590 eastbound at Lindal-in-Furness due to standing floodwater on the road, and slow traffic due to flooding on the A590 Ulverston Road between The Green/London Road and A595 Askam Road/Askam Road (Elliscales Roundabout).

Meanwhile one lane was closed for a time due to an accident on the M6 northbound around J35 at Carnforth and one lane was closed due to flooding and an overturned car on M6 southbound around J34 at Lancaster.