Couple welcome flooding projects in Norfolk and Essex

A couple have welcomed funding to tackle flooding near their home.

Lynn and Hans Shortt have been flooded out of their house in Besthorpe, near Attleborough in Norfolk after a nearby brook burst its banks.

Work to manage water flowing into the stream is one of five projects across Norfolk and Essex to get a share of £25m of government funding.

Mrs Shortt, 63, said: "It will give us a little bit of peace of mind that we may not flood every single winter."

The Environment Agency has announced it is giving money to 40 schemes across the country, which will use natural processes to manage flooding.

The funding will be used to build structures known as leaky dams, which can slow water flow in rivers.

In Essex, the National Trust has been given money to use dredged sediment to the south of Northey Island to slow saltmarsh erosion.

Essex County Council is planning to install eight leaky dams across a flood plain in Hockley Woods to reduce the risk of flooding.

Sand and gravel dredged from the Harwich harbour approach channel will be used by the RSPB to build up beaches and reduce erosion in the Blackwater Estuary.

In Norfolk, The River Waveney Trust will carry out three projects in the Diss area to link up flood plains, create leaky dams and build banks of earth along the edges of fields to slow water running off the land.

Minister for Water and Rural Growth, Robbie Moore, said: "This programme is one more part of our plan to bolster flood resilience and shield communities - all while boosting biodiversity, restoring habitats and protecting the environment for future generations."

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