Carlisle Squash Club bounced back from the devastating floods in Carlisle in 2005, better and stronger, but now its owners have to find the resolve to do the same again.

We spoke to Paul Bell, head squash coach at the club, who told us about the overwhelming Spirit of Cumbria, and the club’s hopes to find somewhere for a glass court.

How did the floods affect your business?  

We’re completely closed at the moment. The gym was underwater and it destroyed all the courts. The whole place is unplayable for the foreseeable future.

Have you reopened/relocated?  

We’re trying to. A few clubs have offered a bit of help but nowhere is near the same size as us. We had six courts and most other places have one or two. There’s no way that all the players are going to be able to continue playing as they were, which is a real shame because there are some amazing junior players and squash has been getting more and more popular.

We have been offered the use of a glass squash court from the World Squash Federation. We’re looking now for somewhere suitable to put it, so that we can use that court for a few months. We’d need somewhere about 10 metres in length, 8 metres wide and 6 metres high.

What are your plans for the future?  

We’re just waiting to see what the loss adjusters say. We flooded in 2005 as well but managed to come back really well.

Would you consider moving?  

We like the club where it is... moving isn’t really on the cards right now.

Where were you when you found out and what was your initial reaction?  

I was with the England squad down in Manchester. To be honest at first I though we have the flood defenses, so there’s no way that it’s gonna happen. Then I started to get more and more calls and speak to more and more people, so I ended up coming back to Carlisle around midnight. By 2am the club had flooded.

What’s your message to other flooded businesses?  

It depends what type of business you are. We’re trying to create alternative ways for people to play squash, and link with clubs around Newcastle, Manchester and Liverpool - though that will mean people have to travel. Most businesses affected have been through it before in 2005, and we all survived and came back stronger.

What evidence have you seen, of the “spirit of Cumbria” in action?  

It’s been amazing. I’ve had it double because my house was flooded as well as the club. The amount of people who’ve been offering help and out on the street giving people a hand… it’s the most overwhelming thing I’ve ever been a part of. It shows how Cumbrians are great people. We keep coming back stronger.