The flooding is starting to recede in the town

United Utilities said on Tuesday that 5,500 homes were still without power in the whole of Cumbria, with 450 engineers working around the clock.

As the clean up begins, some businesses say they have been targeted by thieves while police deal with other incidents.

But Cumbria Police chief defended his officers saying the first priority has been the preservation of life.

Carlisle has been worst affected by the severe weather which hit the region at the weekend, killing three people, and the Met Office has forecast gusts of up to 60mph will batter Carlisle until Wednesday.

James Rotheray who has a motor dealerships in Willowholme, Carlisle, said he had seen evidence of crime during the past four days.

He said: "We were greeted with youths wandering about breaking into cars on the estate. We chased people who were trying to steal stuff out of the motorcycle clothing part of our company which has been devastated.

If people expect us to stand outside their premises at a time like this it is an unrealistic expectation Chief Constable Michael Baxter

"We asked police if they could help us but were told, 'It is your premises, it's up to you protect it, it's not up to us, you are insured'.

"It's bad enough that people may go out of business without having to worry about people thieving from the premises."

Cumbria Chief Constable Michael Baxter said: "Our priority throughout Saturday was preservation of life and protecting property came second.

"I regret what happened to this person, it is a problem, but if people expect us to stand outside their premises at a time like this, it is an unrealistic expectation.

'Fantastic help'

"Every officer I had on duty and other volunteers were going house to house to make sure people's lives were not at risk and if they were, they were being evacuated."

As the clean-up operation begins, the owners of one farm have been examining the damage to their buildings.

Thousands of people in Carlisle have been moved from their homes

The Vasey family from Holme House Farm refused a helicopter flight to safety to care for their prized white Charolais cattle.

Giles Vasey said: "We didn't have much time. We tried to get the animals out of the barns and had fantastic help from fire brigade and friends who also got trapped here.

"But there are people in worse positions, people being killed so we are lucky.

"There were five of us upstairs with the dog. We just had to watch as the level rose in the top barn and went up to the bull's shoulder which wasn't very nice really.

"We are calving at the moment and we were petrified - calves two days old were breathing through their noses pushed up above the water."

Meanwhile, Carlisle City Council is urging homeowners to dispose of ruined items at the civic amenity site at Boustead Grassing, and temporary disposal sites at Devonshire Walk and Rosehill car parks.

Staff from the council who collect items will have a camera with them, to photograph items for insurance purposes.