Defences to protect flood-hit Morpeth

A councillor said he is ecstatic as a new £26m flood defence scheme to protect Morpeth opens.

The project is designed to protect residents by storing millions of gallons of flood water upstream. It will store up to 1.4 million cubic metres of water when river levels rise.

Northumberland County Councillor Ian Swithenbank said was "absolutely ecstatic" about the scheme.

Alan Bell, chairman of the Morpeth Flood Action Group, said he had a concern about the issue of where surface water would go but said he was optimistic the issue would be resolved.