Flood defences credited for protecting 11,000 homes

Some properties flooded in Berkshire, but the Environment Agency said thousands were protected

Flood defences protected "probably about 11,000 properties" in the Thames Valley after recent heavy rainfall, the Environment Agency (EA) has said.

Graham Scholey, a biodiversity technical specialist at the EA, told BBC Radio Berkshire that although some properties had flooded, the agency had done "a pretty thorough job" with flood prevention in the area.

He said river levels in Berkshire were now falling and the EA operation was being scaled back, but added there was still a risk of further flooding from groundwater in some parts of the county.

He urged residents to remain "vigilant" especially in the event of more rain.

Mr Scholey said "a number of areas" in Berkshire were susceptible to groundwater flooding - but they were "particularly concerned" about Great Shefford, which sits on the River Lambourn.

"The risk from groundwater flooding may be a bit of a slow burner but it’s certainly a real risk, so people need to be alert to that," he said.

He also said flooding from rivers - which is distinct from groundwater flooding - was a risk, especially in the event of more rain.

"We are conscious that should we get a period of wet weather again in another week or two, this is a very saturated catchment now and [water levels] would respond quite quickly," he said.

He said the EA had a pump "ready to be operated" in Great Shefford to move water "in a less damaging direction" if a trigger-point was reached in the groundwater level.

Berkshire was hit by flooding after heavy rain last week

Berkshire was one of many areas of England badly affected by flooding following heavy rain last week.

In Cookham, residents said sewage was spilling into their homes as a result of the floods.

Thames Water said the problem was due to flood defences near the sewage pumping station being "overwhelmed".

West Berkshire Council said some of the flooding had been in unexpected areas and it was investigating as a result.

At the weekend, prime minister Rishi Sunak visited flood-hit communities in Oxfordshire and said the government had invested £5.2bn in flood defences.

However, a report by the National Audit Office in November said the number of extra homes to be protected from flooding in England had been almost halved, due to inflation having an impact on the amount of money invested.