Flood barriers tested to protect homes

A 300 meter metal barrier has been tested for flood defences by Environment Agency staff

Flood barriers have been tested to protect around 30 homes after a river burst its banks three times in one year.

Around 300 metres of the metal barriers were placed in fields behind the properties in Chaunterell Way in Abingdon, Oxfordshire

The River Ock last burst its banks in November 2024 and residents say the "damage is done"

But the Environment Agency which installed the barriers said they weren't in place last year when the flooding was bad because "it takes time to design a defence deployment".

Resident Keith Antcliffe said: "The barriers should have been up during last years intense flooding."

He explained that the refurbishment on his home after the flood cost £36,000.

He said he had to "repaint the walls, replace the flooring, redo the kitchen, the whole lot".

He said: "It's alright them saying 'we've got the kit, it's not been tested' but what an ideal time to test it.

"If the water had come through and it didn't work, at least they've tried something instead of just sitting back and saying 'oh well'."

He said now he has put all the freezers and fridges up on stilts because "last year the water level was about 19 to 20 inches."

Jon Mansbridge, flood risk manager at the Environment Agency said the defence deployment was "available last year" but it hadn't been "tried and tested".

He said: "We needed to make sure it worked and was safe to be deployed.