Early findings of a ‘summit’ put responsibility for much of last winter’s flooding down to ditches not being cleaned and home owners extending their gardens.

The outcome was shared by MP Steve Barclay who chaired the flood ‘summit’ in January.

“One of the key early findings is that much of the flooding appears to have been where ditches have either not been maintained or land grabbed for extra gardens,” said Mr Barclay.

“Now is the best time to resolve outstanding issues, before the situation becomes acute again.

“I am determined to keep up the pressure on the local agencies involved in water management.”

He said: “Now the worst of the winter weather is behind us, many people will have forgotten the flooding in the constituency over the festive period – but not those residents affected.

He said he chaired the ‘summit’ to discuss what happened and find ways to make improvements.

“There is more work to do but information is being shared by organisations and continues to be investigated,” he said.

He said he “wanted to reassure constituents that we are continuing to maintain focus to prevent this happening again”.