Environment Agency warns people of flood risks

Last year, Lydney Town Football Club was one of the places left underwater when Storm Bert struck

Almost a year on from Storm Bert the Environment Agency has been warning people to be prepared for flooding.

Officers took to the streets of Lydney, in Gloucestershire, which was left underwater when the River Lyd burst its banks during Storm Bert last year.

The agency's Nick Green said it was speaking to residents to see how they had recovered and giving them advice on making a flood plan.

"It's trying to help the residents, not to scare them in any way, shape or form, just make them understand they're in a risky environment," he said.

He said if there was a high concentration of rain in a short period, the Lyd was likely to burst its banks.

"At certain places the river is a good three, four, five metres down from the road," he said.

"And you think the river is never going to get up there, but with a big flood it does."

Alwyn Liddington said he was expecting to be flooded again

Alwyn Liddington has lived on Beaufort Drive for 45 years and said he expects to be flooded again because, apart from some dredging, no maintenance work had been carried out on the river.

"The river is the same size now as what it was 45 years ago when I bought the house," he said.

"They have just not maintained it, and it's not big enough to take the volume of water that comes down when you get a big storm like Bert."

Alan Edwards and Eileen Edwards said if there was flooding again they would head for higher ground

Alan and Eileen Edwards have lived on Tutnalls Street for 52 years.

Half of their garden was flooded during Storm Bert and Mr Edwards has a plan for what to do if it happens again.

"We've got no family who live close, so it would be a matter of getting the car and going somewhere [on] higher ground," he said.