A RENEWED plea has been made for small and medium sized businesses affected by flooding to apply for recovery grants.

A total of £5 million is available from Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership and Cumbria County Council.

Graham Haywood, director of Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "There are a lot of people out there who may be entitled to grants and who have not applied yet, and we do not want anyone to miss out on a grant that would help their business recover."

Small and medium sized businesses, with up to 250 full-time employees, which were severely affected by the flooding, either directly or indirectly, can claim grants of up to £10,000.

Grants are available for  activities to help clean-up and recovery, including paying for advice from professionals such as accountants, architects, designers and IT experts.

They can also be used to train staff and to pay for expertise to implement a marketing plan, including recreating customer records and other practical marketing activities.

Businesses can also apply for interest relief on borrowing and set up costs, other revenue expenditure and help with staff training.

Call 0844 2578450 or visit www.cumbriagrowthhub.co.uk

The final date for applications is February 28.