THE Prince of Wales has made another visit to Cumbria to see how the county is recovering from winter's devastating floods.

During the visit he met a group of Cumbrian young farmers who were being taught flood resilience driving skills at the Rookin House Activity Centre near Penrith.

The visit marked a renewed three-year partnership between The Prince’s Countryside Fund and Land Rover, and saw this year’s launch of The Prince’s Countryside Fund Land Rover bursary scheme.

The bursary awards up to five inspiring young people, aged 21 to 35, the use of a Land Rover Discovery Sport for a year to support the development of their countryside careers.

The countryside is in desperate need of talented young people. The average age of a British farmer is 59 – only four per cent are under 35. Environmental conservation requires an estimated 30,000 new entrants by 2020 while 53 per cent of forestry workers are over 40.

The Prince joined the young farmers in their training as they developed skills in driving and reversing trailers in and around obstacles, learnt how to check water depth and flow of flooding before carefully driving through the water, and navigated their way around an off-road driving circuit.

Prince Charles got behind the wheel of a Discovery Sport to drive through a beck, experiencing how to drive in water and negotiate the rocky river bed under the guidance of a Land Rover Experience Instructor.

He also met Helen Rebanks and her son Issac, and Mark Curr who were the first recipients of the Land Rover Bursary in 2013, to find out how it benefited them.

Mark runs a sheep enterprise and is chairman of Cumbria Young Farmers. Helen and her husband, James, are hill farmers in Matterdale.

She used the Land Rover to transport school children to their farm's "Herdwick School" which educates the next generation about life and farming on the fells.

Jeremy Hicks, Jaguar Land Rover UK managing director, said: "Access to a 4x4 vehicle can be crucial to getting a rural business off the ground. By providing a vehicle with capability to tackle the most challenging of rural terrains, space for seven and excellent towing capacity, we are aiming to help five ambitious young people to further their rural careers."

Claire Saunders, director of The Prince’s Countryside Fund, said: "There’s an acute need for young people to be supported to enter farming and related careers and a multitude of opportunity waiting for them.

"Whether you’re new to farming, starting a 'field to fork' food business or keen to bring new technologies and your skills to the countryside, The Prince’s Countryside Fund is here to support you. That’s why we’re delighted to be working in partnership with Land Rover to provide such practical and valuable support to young people starting out in their rural careers."

Applications must be made online by April 29th. Applicants must be aged 21 to 35 and living and working in a rural area. See princescountrysidefund.org.uk.