Town's flood defences to be put to the test

Northwich has seen flooding on numerous occasions

A market town hit repeatably by major floods is to have its £7m network of flood defences tested in a "vital" pre-winter training exercise.

Temporary and permanent barriers, as well as fourteen floodgates, will be used in the Environment Agency's test in Northwich, Cheshire.

They were installed in 2016 to help protect homes and businesses near the rivers Dane and Weaver.

Cheshire West and Chester Council councillor Karen Shore said the test would ensure agencies could "act swiftly to protect residents" in the event of future floods.

The Environment Agency will simulate a flood in Northwich to test defences

The test will take place at 16:00 GMT on Sunday and last until 03:00 on Monday.

Floodgates will first close at Waitrose and the Dane Bridge, while temporary flood defences are erected outside Wildwood and the town's cinema.

A diversion will be put in place as part of London Road will be closed for the exercise, an Environment Agency spokeswoman said.

The test is held to allow staff to inspect and maintain the defences while training with other agencies to respond to a real flood.

Mary-Rose Muncaster, Environment Agency operations manager for Cheshire, said teams had to be ready "whatever the weather has in store for us".

"We train all year round but, with the increased flood risk during the wetter months ahead, we want to make sure we are equipped to respond to incidents," she added.