Boston Barrier floodgate closes for first time

Closing the gate left a difference in the water level of 3.8m, the Environment Agency said

A floodgate built to protect a Lincolnshire town from flooding has been put into use for the first time amid warnings of a high tide.

The Boston Barrier was completed last year, and although it is tested each month this was the first time it had been used in response to a flood alert.

The Environment Agency said the 300-ton floodgate was closed as a precaution.

It said closing the gate had left a difference of 3.8m (12ft) between the upstream and downstream water levels.

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A spokesman for the agency said it was closed at 04:45 GMT but the peak had since passed, adding: "We will begin opening the barrier again when tidal levels have dropped to match the river."

The gate was built to protect 14,000 homes from flooding. It can be raised in 20 minutes, responding quickly to threats of North Sea tidal surges.

The barrier is tested each month but has never closed in response to an alert before

It is part of the government's investment in flood defences, and gives Boston one of the best standards of flood defence outside London.

It was built after 800 properties were flooded in a tidal surge in 2013.

Boston Barrier project director Adam Robinson said: "It is a significant event at the end of the day, as we all know climate action is required moving forward.

"That is part of why we have invested in Boston and the surrounding area, because of those terrible floods in 2013.

"This provides us with that level of protection to everybody in the area."