Scottish Borders flood repairs bill reaches £1.6m

Hawick was hit by severe flooding during the storms which affected the Scottish Borders

The cost of repairing damage caused by severe winter weather in the Borders has reached £1.6m, with more than half the works still to be completed.

Storms Desmond, Eva, Frank and Gertrude all caused major issues in the area, as did poor weather on 27 January.

A council report said 45% of repairs had been carried out by 21 March.

It also concluded that dredging of rivers - a solution which had been suggested - was "ineffective, uneconomic and unsustainable".

The report to Scottish Borders Council is the latest update on the impact of flooding which affected towns including Hawick, Jedburgh, Newcastleton and Peebles.

The full cost of repairing all the damage has yet to be calculated but the council will get support under the government's Bellwin Scheme to deal with it.

However, it will need to fund the first £508,000 of works.

Bridges, embankments, roads, drainage channels, culverts and signs were all damaged during the severe winter weather.

It prompted calls - in Hawick in particular - to look at dredging to help alleviate the problem.

The report said that, modelled on the River Teviot through the town, it would cost £1.5m and would not "substantially reduce" the flood risk.