Flood alerts stepped up for East Sussex village

Households in an East Sussex village are to get a new flood warning service.

Pett, near Hastings, is at risk of flooding from both the sea and the Marsham Sewer drainage ditch, according to the Environment Agency (EA).

The village already has a flood warning service which covers the coastal risk, but not for the risk from the sewer.

"This will make the flood warnings they receive more targeted and enable the homeowners to take the steps they need to respond in good time," said an EA spokesperson.

Henry Bethell, from the EA's flood resilience team, said floods could have a "devastating impact".

"However, the climate emergency means we cannot prevent all flooding – so we're working to make communities resilient to future flooding," he said.

The new flood warning service area has been created to target groups of households where the chances of flooding might be greater than the larger surrounding area, said the EA.

Flood warnings tell people about an imminent risk of flooding to their home or business and help people make informed decisions about how to respond, said the EA.

There are three types of warning – flood alert, flood warning and severe flood warning.

Home and business owners in Pett will be automatically enrolled to the flood warning service via their mobile network.

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