Flitwick neighbours manage weir and waterwheel during floods

Don Palmer's home is an 11th Century mill with a working water wheel

Water levels at a 1,000-year-old mill are being managed by two engineer neighbours working together.

Warren Thornton lives in Flitwick Mill House in Bedfordshire, which adjoins the 11th Century mill that was converted by and now inhabited by his neighbour Don Palmer.

The River Flit runs through Mr Thornton's garden via a weir and sluice-gate, which he has to operate.

Mr Palmer said recent water levels were "as high as I like to see" them.

The mill is thought to have been in the town since at least 1086 and its pond was said to have been hand-dug by monks.

The River Flit runs through Warren Thornton's garden at Flitwick Mill House

When it rains, Mr Thornton has to monitor the river levels and operate his sluice to stop his and his neighbours' homes from flooding.

"If I know I've got a lot of rain coming then I'll just open everything up… we've got a sluice with a wheel that controls how much it opens," he said.

Mr Thornton said about 6,000 litres (1,320 gallons) of water a second pass through his garden sluice when it has been raining heavily.

• Listen: How mill owners manage the River Flit

"You've got a weir and some boards that slide in…. so your day-to-day adjustment of the water levels is done by whacking those in," he said.

"Between me and Don, we get on great. If he's taking on a bit too much water through the wheel, I just tell him to turn it down, or I turn it down."

Warren Thornton uses a sluice-gate to manage the River Flit

Mr Palmer's home has a working water wheel connected to a series of large cogs and a grindstone inside the mill. It can also generate electricity.

"Warren and I have to monitor the water levels - we make a good team," he said.

Referring to Friday's flooding in Bedfordshire, which affected areas including Leighton Buzzard, he said: "The water levels are pretty much up there. They're certainly as high as I've seen them."

Don Palmer said the river levels were the highest he had seen

Mr Thornton, who is originally from California, moved into the Mill House four years ago and does not find managing the weir a burden.

"I have a PhD in mechanical engineering and this isn't the most complicated thing that I deal with on a day-to-day basis. I'm looking at automating all this in the future," he said.

"I can't believe I get to live here."