£2m repairs fund set up for flood-hit farmers

The town of Wainfleet in Lincolnshire was flooded in June

A £2m repairs fund has been set up by the government to support farmers who were affected by severe flooding earlier this year.

The Farming Recovery Fund will pay out grants of between £500 and £25,000 to cover the costs of repairing damage.

Wainfleet in Lincolnshire and parts of North Yorkshire were hit by flooding in the summer following heavy rainfall.

Stuart Roberts, from the National Farmers Union, said the funding was a "huge relief" for farmers.

"We know from speaking to our members on the ground just how costly the clean-up is proving, with some farmers facing bills of tens of thousands of pounds to remove stone from fields, rebuild fences and dry-stone walls, and clear up thousands of acres of lost crops," he said.

In June, more than 580 homes in Wainfleet were evacuated after the River Steeping burst its banks.

RAF helicopters were drafted in to drop tonnes of ballast into the gap.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it was providing an additional £5.25m to support wider recovery work in the area, including the repair of roads and bridges.