MILLIONS of pounds has been pledged to help protect Kendal from future floods.

Rory Stewart MP, Minister for Floods, visited Gooseholme at 5pm today to announce that government will be giving £58m to Cumbria.

"I would expect a lot of money to be spent in Kendal," said Mr Stewart.

"We're talking very significant sums and I would anticipate Kendal getting a big chunk of that.

"Kendal has not been forgotten. 

"I was worried that we weren't going to get as much but this completely exceeded my wildest dreams."

The Environment Agency is currently preparing a report on December's flood in Kendal and will be recommending resilience and defence improvements 'by early summer', according to Craig Cowperthwaite, a senior advisor in flood risk management at the EA.

It is likely that work to strengthen Kendal's flood defences and resilience will begin around 2020/21.