Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday travelled to Cumbria to see the devastation caused by the “Biblical” flooding which killed a policeman and damaged more than 1,000 homes.

In Cockermouth, the town was strewn with debris churned up by the rushing torrents of water. Smashed shop windows were a testimony to the force of the flood and a thick paste of sludge and silt covered the roads.

Almost 100 people were still sheltering in emergency centres last night.

During his trip, Mr Brown offered £1million in government aid for the repair and clean-up operation following the highest rainfall in England since records began.

More than 1ft of rain (314mm) fell in 24 hours on Thursday.

Mr Brown praised the work of the emergency services and the community spirit of the people, which he said made him proud.

“I have met people in the centre I have just visited showing great community spirit,” he said.

“A community is a thousand acts of kindness and friendship for each other. It is making me very, very proud of this community.

“The emergency services have worked brilliantly, right across the board.”

He paid tribute to hero PC Bill Barker, a father of four, who was directing motorists off a bridge when it collapsed into the River Derwent and he was swept away.

His body was found by colleagues washed up on a beach in West Cumbria.

Mr Brown also met flood-hit residents taking shelter at the Shepherd’s Hotel in Cockermouth.

Ann Burns, 76, who has spent two nights at the centre, said: “He tries, I’ll give him that.

“We all need a bit of a lift. I’m going back to nowt.

“I was one of the first ones evacuated and taken here, I hardly know what day it is. I’m not bothered, I’m still breathing.”

Doris Studholme, 88, said: “This is the second time I have been flooded out – in 2005 I was out for six months.

“This time it’s hopeless. I don’t know when I will get back home.

“I’ve lost everything again. Last time they had to carry me out, this time they came quickly and got us out before the flood.

“But I’ve got family and the people here could not do any more for us, they’re fantastic.”

Sylvia Mason, 51, said a prized possession, a campaign medal and testimonial presented to her son, Russell Watson, 24, from the Army after serving in Iraq, had probably been washed away after flood waters deluged her house on Thursday night.

Mrs Mason said none of her other possessions mattered as much as the medal and asked the Prime Minister for help.

“He said he will try to get a replacement,” she said.

“I’m very proud of my son, as he is proud of all the soldiers. I know it sounds daft. If I can get that it doesn’t matter about anything else.”

After visiting the shelter the Prime Minister went to the centre of the emergency services operations, set up at Cockermouth Fire Station.

The Fire Service, along with police, RAF, RNLI, NHS paramedics and mountain rescue personnel were co-ordinating the search and clear-up operation from the station.

Tina Fearon, a firefighter stationed in the town, said they had taken 500 emergency calls since Thursday night and fire crews had been brought in from Barrow and Carlisle.

“We are now in the process of sweeping the town, identifying areas to be checked and double-checked as some people chose to stay in their homes,” she said.

Special high-volume pumping fire engines were also being brought in from Tyne and Wear and Merseyside, to pump the water out of basements and streets and into the river, once the levels fall.

Adrian Holme, group manager for the fire service in Cumbria at Penrith, said the operation was still in its “emergency” phase but they were hoping it would soon go to the “recovery” stage and the clean-up.

An army of council roadsweepers was ready to clean the sludge off the streets and a decontamination tent had been set up in the town centre to combat sewage which may have leaked into the water.

Firemen and building surveyors were also checking on structural damage to buildings and bridges to ensure they are safe.

Cumbria County Council said inspectors visited the bridge where PC Barker was swept away last July for routine checks and found it to be structurally sound.

However, all of Cumbria’s 1800 bridges are now undergoing inspections in the wake of the floods.

Inspectors closed two more bridges today – Station Road Bridge in Keswick, and Workington Bridge, including the footpath which runs underneath – meaning 13 have now been shut across the county.

Glyn Vaughan, area manager for the Environment Agency in Cumbria, said staff would be checking flood defences in the county to ensure they had not been damaged.

Another 20-25mm of rain fell in some parts of Cumbria yesterday, with a further 25-30mm due to be dumped today.