Once again our area is on flood alert following warnings of heavy rain over the weekend, particularly late Sunday moving into Monday. The situation locally has been precarious for the last week or so, particularly in the Brigg area on the Ancholme River.

I met with Cllrs Carl and Nigel Sherwood (pictured) earlier at the River Ancholme sluice gates in South Ferriby where we had a discussion with the Environment Agency regarding the forecast for the weekend. I also took the opportunity to speak to East Riding Council from whom I have received a full briefing on their preparations for the weekend. Hopefully, the emergency planning response will not be needed but we have to take these warnings seriously, particularly given the localised flooding suffered earlier this week.

This evening I visited some flood victims from last June's flooding which served as a timely reminder of the devastating impact of flooding. One of the residents we met with spoke at length about the mental health problems which have been caused by being a victim of flooding. We perhaps forget that whilst houses can be put back together quite easily, human beings sometimes take a little longer to heal.