BBC News | ENGLAND | Invention offers homes 'flood protection'

The inventors of a unique household flood barrier hope it will win the backing of insurers who often refuse to cover homeowners in at-risk areas.

Inspired by television pictures of last year's devastating floods, the Neptune Flood Defence System relies on a giant rubber skirt which can be lifted up in bad weather.

Developers Glynn Woodward and Terry Blake held a trial demonstration for insurers in the artificially swamped garden of a house in Kent on Friday.

The house, in Yalding, on which has been deluged nine times by the nearby river Medway.

Mr Woodward told BBC News Online: "Our system is not cheap - it costs between �20,000 and �30,000 - but it's a one-off payment, compared with the cost of being regularly flooded."

Uninsurable

Mr Woodward said the owner of the house in Yalding had recently made a �70,000 claim for flood damage.

Flood skirt facts
Neptune costs up to �30,000
Developers hope to get insurers' backing
A one metre rubber skirt is pulled up in bad weather
A patent has been applied for
Sealants and pumps protect against ground water
He said many householders, especially those living on flood plains and by the coast, had now found their homes were literally uninsurable.

"We hope insurers will accept our system and will be prepared to offer insurance cover to people who install it," added Mr Woodward.

Apart from the one metre high rubber skirt, protection is offered by sealing the home's foundations and installing pumps to protect against groundwater.

Approved installers

Mr Woodward said he was recruiting a network of builders and civil engineers who, once trained, could become approved installers of the device.

Flood skirt in tests
The skirt underwent a successful trial on Friday
The invention has won the qualified backing of the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

A spokeswoman for the ABI said: "Insurers do take into account anything which is going to reduce the risk of flooding."

The Environment Agency said it was waiting to see how it performed in the tests before offering its support.


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