Published at 19:28, Thursday, 29 July 2010

WEST Cumbria should be proud.

The last nine months have thrown bad things our way – from the November floods to the June 2 shootings by Derrick Bird, our communities have shown resilience.

Now we have another hero, in the form of off-duty Inspector Dennis Kelly, who foiled an armed robbery at Maryport’s Spar shop and petrol station yesterday.

Was he just doing his job? Maybe. But he showed no fear and no regard for his own safety.

He is the latest in a long line of people from West Cumbria we can call heroes, not least PC Barker, who lost his life when directing traffic from Northside Bridge in Workington.

But it’s also small acts of heroism that mean so much.

Cockermouth’s traders and residents have worked tirelessly to get the flood-hit town back on its feet. There’s still some way to go, but the Lakes Alive event on Tuesday and tomorrow’s street party will celebrate it being on the road to recovery.

Workington’s Hall Park allotments, ruined in the floods, are also back to normality after volunteers put in thousands of hours to restore their piece of paradise.

Deb Muscat, of Cumbria Community Foundation, has been recognised for her work in setting up the flood recovery fund, and hundreds of volunteers helped organisers of Cockermouth Rock Festival earlier this month when Mother Nature almost put paid to the event.

Despite the darkness of the last few months, we have much to celebrate.

Those we have named and the hundreds of unsung heroes – we salute you.

Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk