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Live Reporting

Martin Lewes

All times stated are UK

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  1. As it happened: BBC Cumbria Live

    Martin Lewes

    Reporter

    We've now finished posting news, travel reports, a regular weather forecast and other things that take our fancy from around the county, for today.

    Here's a reminder:

    We'll be back to do it again from 08:00 tomorrow.

    As always, if you have a photograph you'd like to share or you have news you think we should know, you can email ustweet us or get in touch through our Facebook page.  

    Have a very good evening.

  2. Defence secretary: Barrow shipyard 'leads way' in training

    The Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon says the BAE shipyard in Barrow is "leading British industry" in the way it invests in the skills of its workforce.

    Michael Fallon

    BAE Systems announced today that it was building a £25m training centre for its 1,000 apprentices and the rest of the workforce to equip them for the new Dreadnought class of submarines.

    Sir Michael said he could not recall any other business training on such a scale: "This is a long term investment in the skills the submarine industry needs."

  3. Police launch drive for more officers

    BBC Radio Cumbria

    Cumbria police say they're starting a new recruitment drive for officers.

    The force is holding a series of recruitment evenings over the next three weeks to explain what the job involves.

    The number of officers serving at the rank of constable has fallen since 2010 from 989 to 890.

    Police officer talking into radio.
  4. Watch: Architects show what new shipyard training centre will look like

    Kerry Parvin

    Reporter

    BAE Systems has just put out these artists' impressions of the new £25m training centre at their Barrow shipyard.

    Video content

    Video caption: BAE Systems Barrow shipyard to get new training centre

    The shipyard employs about 1,000 apprentices, and they and other staff will need new training to build the Dreadnought submarines that will carry Britain's nuclear deterrent.

    Many will be taken through to degree-level qualifications.

    BAE Systems managing director, Tony Johns, said designing and building the new boats will be "one of the world's most complex and technically demanding engineering challenges".

  5. Travel: Track defect slows West Coast Main Line trains

    BBC Travel

    Virgin Trains says its southbound services on the West Coast Main Line between Penrith and Oxenholme are delayed by up to ten minutes because of a speed restriction over defective track.

  6. Cumbria's weather: Winds easing and dry

    BBC Weather

    The winds will ease overnight and it'll be dry with clear spells and lows of 6C (43F).

    Weather graphic
  7. Dam it all: Nature reserve's ditches plugged to hold back floodwater

    Cumbria Wildlife Trust says it's dammed 20 drainage ditches on its new nature reserve at Eycott Hill, to hold water on the marshland there rather than letting it run off.

    Eycott Hill, with digger working

    Water from the hill eventually flows into the Rivers Greta and Derwent, and the ditch-blocking is the first of a series of projects designed to slow the flow of water from the reserve.

    Staff say the work will also help a range of wildlife on the wetland.

  8. Missing camper who abandoned possessions spotted in Dalton

    A camper who abandoned his car, tent and other equipment in Borrowdale last month has been seen in Dalton.

    David Brown

    David Brown, 68, originally from Shetland, was last seen at Chapel House Farm on 30 January.

    Police say they have confirmed a sighting of him recorded on CCTV in Dalton on 13 February.

  9. Former chancellor Osborne urges better links for West Cumbria

    The former Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, is among the politicians campaigning in Copeland today.

    George Osborne

    Mr Osborne said he was pressing the case to make sure West Cumbria was part of his Northern Powerhouse project.

    Quote Message: What this part of the world needs is more investment in the roads, we need to make sure that the great nuclear industry here spurs a renewal in places like Whitehaven, and we've got to make sure we've got broadband so we're connected in future."
  10. Lakes police investigate Grasmere burglaries

    A clothing shop and a cafe were broken into in Grasmere last night.

    View more on twitter

    Police say a quantity of clothing was taken from the shop.

    They are appealing for anyone who saw anything unusual outside Mountain Hi to come forward.

  11. Barrow shipyard welcomes apprentice school return

    Barrow's BAE shipyard is to have a new £25m apprentice school as it gears up to construct the new Dreadnought submarines.

    Dreadnought artists' impression

    The yard has about 1,000 apprentices but expects to need more space for training to build the successor to the Vanguard class of nuclear-armed boats.

    The previous school was closed in the 1990s after the end of the Cold War led to a decline in work.

    The Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon is visiting the yard today.

  12. Police concerned for missing Penrith man

    Police are appealing to trace missing Peter Dixon who was last seen at his home on Folly Lane in Penrith at 23:30 on Sunday.

    Peter Dixon

    He's believed to be driving a blue Nissan Micra with the registration T668 LAO.

    Anyone with any information is asked to contact Cumbria Police. 

  13. Climber Alan spots an early sign of spring

    Alan Hinkes, one of Britain's top mountaineers, spends much of his time in Cumbria.

    In the Yorkshire Dales, which despite its name includes part of south east Cumbria, he's spotted an early sign of spring.. 

    View more on twitter
  14. Rising cost of social care 'may outstrip tax hike'

    BBC Radio Cumbria

    There are fears a 4% increase in council tax in Cumbria won't provide enough money to cover the increasing cost of adult social care. 

    Cumbria County Council was allowed an extra increase of up to 2% this year to catch up with the cost of caring for the increasing numbers of elderly people.

    Council sign

    Councillors agreed at county hall in Kendal last week to take that increase, but because the overall council tax bill in Cumbria is shared with district councils, it didn't bring in as much as it would have done in an area with just one layer of local government.  

    The authority's cut its social care spending by £24m over the past tree years, part of an overall cut of £200m since 2011.

    Today the Local Government Association, speaking for all councils, said the increases in council tax wouldn't even cover the pay rises to care workers due because of increases in the minimum wage.

  15. Cumbria's weather: Brighter from the north

    BBC Weather

    Outbreaks of rain, mostly light and patchy will push southwards before it brightens again from the north.

    Strong and gusty westerly winds will slowly ease and temperatures will rise to 13C (55F).

    Weather graphic

    You can find the latest weather forecast for where you are, here.

  16. Cumbrian cricketer tops cash register for Indian League

    BBC Radio Cumbria Sport

    Cumbrian cricketer Ben Stokes has become the Indian Premier League's most expensive foreign player after Rising Pune Supergiants bought him for £1.7m

    Ben Stokes

    Ben moved to Cockermouth at the age of 12 and holds a string of records including England's fastest-ever test double century.

  17. Hammer comes down for more than your average bear

    A teddy-bear's sold for more than £800 in an auction of vintage toys in Cumbria.

    Steiff bear

    The Steiff bear went to a telephone bidder. 

    Other lots sold included a model steam engine for £820 and a scale model of the Titanic which fetched £150. 

    Mitchells Auctioneers in Cockermouth said the event on Saturday was a "massive success".  

  18. Copeland candidates agree road and rail need more, but not who's best to do it

    Candidates in the Copeland by-election argued over who had the best record in improving infrastructure like road and rail, in a BBC Radio Cumbria debate

    Trudy Harrison, for the Conservatives, said it would be best to bring the main roads in the area back under the control of Highways England, or retrunked as the jargon has it.

    She said: "We want to increase resilience on the roads, we want to reduce journey times. If we can dual it in parts, we can have better roads so that overtaking is much easier."

    For Labour, Gillian Troughton said: "Since 2010 with a Conservative government propped up by Lib Dems, we have had cuts in every sphere in this constituency for the councils. Labour was investing in this community, we had invested in the Lillyhall bypass."

    UKIP's Fiona Mills insisted money would be available for improvements once Britain had left the EU.

    You can find a full list of candidates here, and more information about the constituency here

    The programme's repeated at 18:00 on Wednesday.