Supermarkets and suppliers in Cumbria were forced to close last week when they were caught up in the region's worst flooding in living memory.

Booths' flagship store in Keswick, one of the worst affected areas, closed for three days. It partially reopened on Monday and was trading normally by Wednesday with a full range of groceries, fresh produce, magazines and wines and spirits. Chilled products and counters had "almost" 100% availability.

In Cockermouth, where water levels reached eight feet, The Co-operative Group shut its store for two days after rain damaged the roof. The society donated milk, bread, water, babyfood and nappies to local communities, and supplied tea, coffee and chocolate to the emergency services. It also donated £10,000 to the Cumbria Flood Recovery Fund.

Sainsbury's, which also has a store in the town, donated food to the local rescue centre and emergency services, as well as turning the store car park into a makeshift police operations HQ.

Meanwhile, Jennings Brewery, which is on the banks of the river Cocker in the town, remains closed after being flooded with more than four feet of water. A major clean-up operation is under way at the Marston's brewery.

Deliveries in the region were also affected. Tesco closed its Workington store for two days because it was unable to take deliveries, while supplies were temporarily disrupted to The Co-op Group's stores in the area.

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