Low-lying flood affected areas 'priority' for Environment Agency

More than 1,000 acres of farmland was flooded after a breach in the banks of the Barlings Eau

More needs to be done to protect low-lying areas from future flooding, the Environment Agency (EA) has said.

Earlier this month, more than 1,000 acres of farmland were left under water after a breach in the banks of the Barlings Eau, a river near Lincoln.

EA area director Norman Robinson said work to repair the breach would start as soon as the weather permitted.

He said: "We need to stand back and look at how lowland areas across the UK are managed."

"We saw a breach here in 2007 so we know we've got an issue in this location," he said.

"So we need to work with landowners to figure out what we can do going forward."

Farmers criticised the Environment Agency for a lack of action over the breach, which is still to be repaired

The Environment Agency said the sheer amount of water meant the river overtopped and damaged the bank.

Mr Robinson said repairs would be carried out as soon as possible and the standing water drained off the land.

However, he said, once the repairs were done "we need to have a proper conversation about how we can make space for water".

"In terms of lessons, it's more about the prognosis for the future and about what we can expect in terms of climate change," he said.

"We are expecting to see more weather like this and more rainfall events of this type."

The flooding also left roads in the area submerged

Farmers, including Henry Ward, whose farm was left cut off by the floodwater, criticised the agency for a lack of action over the breach.

"The water levels are slowly receding, but because the bank hasn't been repaired we are worried if we have any significant rain... we will be back to square one," he said.

Going forward, he said he would campaign for more to be done to prevent a repeat of what happened.

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