An independent travel agent has been “devastated” after his shop was overwhelmed by five feet of water in the Cumbrian floods.

Cockermouth Travel owner Paul Cusack's shop suffered damage estimated at more than £40,000 after the flood waters started rising in the town's high street yesterday afternoon. 

The family owned business, which has been on Cockermouth’s main street for 30 years, must now wait for the flood waters to subside before counting the true cost of the disaster and fears the shop could be out of action for a month.

It took just an hour for waters to rise as the rain lashed Cumbria and left more than 1,000 homes without electricity while emergency services evacuated residents from their waterlogged homes. 

Cusack, 46, said: “I have been left absolutely devastated by this. The water rose so quickly it was unbelievable. 

“We had put sandbags outside but it didn’t make any difference and within an hour the office was flooded. 

“Luckily we have an upstairs so we managed to get the computers out before it was too late. But all the furniture, carpets and electrical cabling was completely was completely ruined.”

The agency has 11 staff who have been working round-the-clock to ensure that no customers’ holidays are not affected by the crisis. 

Cusack, whose business is fully insured, estimates that the firm will still not be able to get back to business as usual for at least a month.

But he added: “My staff have been absolutely fantastic and everyone from the bank to the computer company could not have been more helpful.

“One client even offered us some free office space – that’s what you get with a close-knit community.

“It’s a shame this happened because we have been getting through the recession pretty well, but we will bounce back.”