Young farming couple devastated after losing 58 sheep in Cumbria flash flood

Water levels on Seatoller Farm in Borrowdale rose to over 1.5 metres in just four hours after never-before-seen rainfall had burst the banks of the River Derwent. The rapidly rising water swept away 58 of the 148 sheep housed on the field neighbouring the river, with some of the animals washing up miles from the farm.

According to the Met Office, 97.2mm of rain fell at Seathwaite on 30^th September, where the River Derwent starts its course.

In 20 years of the family running the farm, the couple has never seen flooding of this scale before. Dan and Ruby took over Seatoller Farm five years ago from Dan’s parents, Stephen and Christine, who had been leasing the property from the National Trust.

To prevent any more lives from being lost, the couple have been calling on authorities to dredge the river without delay.

Ms Cappleman said: “We live in the wettest place in England, and it’s unacceptable that four hours of rain can cause so much devastation. The river should be able to cope with longer periods of rain before it causes absolute chaos.”

Ewe lambs saved during the floods. Image © Ruby Cappleman.

Losing a large portion of their stock, which consisted of Herdwick and Swaledale ewe lambs, will set the couple back tens of thousands of pounds. This comes in addition to the torment of seeing their animals perish in the waters, with almost a whole generation of breeding wiped out.

“I can’t describe the heartache seeing our stock, which we have looked after and are the future of our flock, be helplessly washed away,” Ms Cappleman said.

She went on to recount the chaos that ruled during the extreme weather events last Friday: “Dan was at the auction when I first noticed the severity of the flooding and he returned home straight away, only to end up stranded a mile from home. A local farmer managed to get him home.

“Meanwhile, I helplessly tried to catch lambs as they floated past whilst nearly knee deep. I only managed to save three with the help of two neighbours before it got too dangerous.

“If something doesn’t happen soon, lives will be lost,” she stressed. “The roads surrounding the farm were cut off, and the water was over Dan’s tractor tyres as he tried to return stranded children from the local school to their homes in Borrowdale,” Ms Cappleman added.

Dan Simpson driving his tractor in the floodwater. Image © Ruby Cappleman.

To spur the authorities into action, the couple have set up a petition urging the Environment Agency and local Rivers Trust to manage the River Derwent. In the first 24 hours of launching, the petition received over 1,000 signatures, indicating the relevance of the matter to many locals.

So far, a representative from Copeland MP Trudy Harrison’s office responded to the appeal and a meeting with the NFU, the Environment Agency, and the local council is currently in the plans. The couple are hoping the authorities will take swift action to manage the river following the meeting.

“Dredging may not be the complete solution, but I expect that alone would make a huge difference due to the number of stones in the river bottom,” Ms Cappleman said.

To sign the petition, visit: https://bit.ly/3RBBL9i