Flood warnings being issued too late, says MP

Sarah Bool raised concerns over how quickly flood warnings were being issued

An MP has criticised the speed at which flood warnings are issued by the Environment Agency.

Sarah Bool, Conservative MP for South Northamptonshire, raised the issue during a debate on flooding at the House of Commons on Monday.

She said "flood warnings are actually coming hours after flood events have occurred", adding it was an "issue across my constituency".

The Environment Agency, which issues flood warnings in England, has been approached for comment.

Responding to Bool in the Commons, the parliamentary under-secretary in the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Emma Hardy said the "majority" of flood warnings were issued with "timely notice".

"I am now looking at situations in which those warnings were not received in time with the Met Office and the Environment Agency, to understand why that has happened and how we can improve it," she said.

"We need to ensure that people are getting those warnings as quickly as possible so that they can take the actions needed."

Hardy also encouraged members of the public to sign up for flood warnings.

There are currently four flood alerts in place across Northamptonshire, including one for the River Tove in the South Northants constituency.

The others are for the Upper Nene near Northampton, the Middle Nene near Thrapston and the River Ise and Alledge Brook near Kettering.

The warnings come after melting snow and heavy rain on Monday.