The chairman of a parish council says the events in his village are like nothing he has seen in six decades of living there.
The school has been closed, Main Street in front of the school has been shut and the houses near the school have been evacuated and moved to the Ennerdale Hotel in Cleator.
The landslide is believed to have been caused by a combination of the long spell of dry weather combined with heavy rain on Tuesday night to cause a split.
A temporary 18-month emergency road closure notice has been issued by Cumbria County Council which gives the authority powers to impose temporary restrictions on the carriageway for the next 18 months.
It is not a meaningful indication of the period the road will be closed for, the authority said.
Stephen Tumelty, chairman of Parton Parish Council, said: “I have lived here all my life and in 60 years I have never seen anything like this.
“Where it is is the hill that links the top and bottom of Parton, which is starting to come away. It used to be used as a pathway for people to go to school.
“It was then blocked off by the school about 20 years ago and it is now never used and it is overgrown.
“We can’t just leave it because if it goes it is going to go right into the school and the schoolyard.
“We have got to make it safe.”
Eight homes opposite the school have been evacuated and two homes beside the school.
“I have spoken to one woman on the corner and she had to go to friends or family in Workington,” said Stephen. “She doesn’t know what is going on.”
The council chairman expects the impact on the village to be significant.
“It will have a big impact because of the school and the village hall, which we can’t use, and also the playpark,” he said. “The playpark is usually very busy.
“They have cordoned off the road beside the school and down to the bottom. The train station is still accessible.”
