TWO heroines have been invited to 10 Downing Street in honour of their work during the Boxing Day floods.

Kellie Hughes, 42, owner of Kellie Hughes Hair Studio in Whalley, and Gillian Darbyshire, president of Whalley and District Lions Club have been asked by Prime Minister David Cameron to attend a reception at his residence in London.

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The duo spent countless hours working with residents in Whalley and Billington to help those affected by the floods.

Mrs Darbyshire, the owner of DSM Chartered Accounts, applied for flood grants on behalf of dozens of elderly, vulnerable and people whose homes had been ruined by the water.

She used Whalley Village Hall as a crisis centre and then began to collect thousands of pounds worth of aid for residents.

Ms Hughes put her business on hold as she went around the village with other volunteers to make sure people who had not left their homes had enough food, clean water and other supplies .

The hairstylist had also taken it upon herself to divert traffic from King Street which suffered a sudden flash flood a few weeks before the Boxing Day water struck.

Mrs Darbyshire said she did not expect to receive an invitation to Downing Street.

She said: “It was a surprise at first.

"I couldn’t believe I had been invited.

"It’s fantastic to have some recognition for what we did.

“The village was incredible the way it handled itself.

“There were so many volunteers who wanted to put their hands up and come forward to do their part.

“The important step now is to make sure there is a plan put in place in case something like this happens again.”

Ms Hughes said: “I’m really excited to go down to Downing Street.

“I just went into autopilot mode during those weeks and just wanted to do as much as I could to help."

“You don’t think about anything else apart from wanting to make sure everyone is safe and has somewhere to eat and sleep.

“The process has still a long way to go, I would say it will take my salon around 18 months to recover.”

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans, said: “I’m really pleased for Kellie and Gillian who will be representing their village when they go to Downing Street.

“It’s a shame everyone involved cannot be taken down but those two will be giving the people their deserved recognition.”

The pair will be attending the event on Monday. (March 21)