By Nigel Roddis
COCKERMOUTH, England (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited flood-hit Cumbria in north west England Saturday to see the damage caused by record rainfall and pay tribute to a policeman who died when a bridge collapsed.
Heavy rain during the past few days has left hundreds of people sheltering in rescue centres, hotels and with family and friends.
Water levels were receding Saturday allowing emergency services to search properties to ensure residents were safe, and engineers to check for any structural damage to bridges.
But four severe flood warnings were still in place across the area and a further 30 mm of rain was forecast for later in the day.
"What you have done over the last few days is tackle one of the greatest rainfalls we've seen in our country," Brown told emergency services during a visit to Cumbria police headquarters.
He said the country was proud of their "superb" response.
He later visited a rescue centre and spoke to residents.
Elsewhere, large parts of Ireland's west, south and midlands remained submerged in flood water in the worst flooding the country has seen in decades, with 175 troops deployed in rescue efforts.
Flood defences in Cumbrian towns were overwhelmed by unprecedented downpours which officials said could be expected only once in 1,000 years.
The Environment Agency said 314 mm had fallen within 24 hours in one area, a record for England. The Meteorological Office said the amount of rain expected for all of November had fallen in one day.
"HEROIC POLICEMAN"
Brown paid tribute to Police Constable Bill Barker, 44, who died after being swept down river when a bridge he had been directing motorists off collapsed.
"I'm sorry about the loss of PC Bill Barker, and I know he was a very brave and heroic man," he said.
More than 10,000 people have left tributes to the father of four on the social networking site Facebook.
Lifeboats, Royal Air Force helicopters and the military had been used to help rescue hundreds of people from their homes in towns and villages across the picturesque Lake District.
"The floods have left a devastated high street," said a Reuters photographer in Cockermouth.
"It looks like a bomb has hit it. There is mud, bits of trees and wrecked cars here."
Britain has been hit by severe flooding in recent years, raising questions about the impact of global warming. Last year Britain saw its wettest summer since records began in 1914 while floods in 2007 affected 55,000 homes and businesses and left an insurance bill of around 3 billion pounds.
(Additional reporting by Andras Gergely and Michael Holden, writing by Avril Ormsby; Editing by Louise Ireland)
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