All eyes are on river levels in flood-hit Cumbria as more heavy rain threatens a vital bridge and further damage to homes.

On Tuesday parts of the county saw several inches of rainfall on to already saturated ground, ensuring 30 flood warnings and alerts remained in force across the area.

There are fears Calva Bridge in Workington, which carries communication cables for hundreds of homes, may collapse after being battered by surging river water.

The rising levels could bring down the bridge which crosses the River Derwent, the same stretch of water which claimed the life of Pc Bill Barker last Friday as he shepherded people from Northside Bridge.

The clean-up operation in Cockermouth town centre Full Image

People in Workington were told if it collapsed, 1,000 homes north of the river would lose their telephone connections. Six bridges in the county have already collapsed since last week's deluge, causing major transport and logistical headaches for thousands of people.

The Environment Agency said: "We expect (the rainfall) will lead to further flooding. If it had just come by itself it wouldn't cause us too much concern, but because it's falling on saturated ground there's the likelihood of further flooding, but not as extreme as last week.

"We expect the situation to ease and clear by the end of the week, however, it will take a while for the rivers to drop."

Rob Hutchinson, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said the worst of the rain had cleared Cumbria. "The heaviest rain is now out the way," he said.

"It's going to be showery for the foreseeable future.

"Cumbria may well be out the woods in terms of the bad weather."