Pickles says sorry over lack of river dredging

The Communities Secretary issued an unreserved apology to those affected in the Somerset Levels but also blamed the Environment Agency for providing poor advice.

Prime Minister David Cameron chaired the emergency Cobra committee yesterday to discuss the Government’s response to the ongoing crisis in the South-West.

Repeated calls for dredging had been made to Downing Street and other Whitehall departments by farmers and others in the region from at least six months ago but funding was declined.

Mr Pickles, who is now leading on the crisis while Environment Secretary Owen Paterson recovers from eye surgery, said: “We made a mistake, there’s no doubt about that and we perhaps relied too much on the Environment Agency’s advice. We recognise that we should have dredged and I think it is important now that we get on the process of getting those people back into their houses.”

Mr Pickles criticised under-fire Environment Agency chairman Lord Smith for refusing to say sorry for the failures when he was besieged by angry locals on a visit to Somerset.

Asked if Prime Minister David Cameron should also apologise, Mr Pickles said: “I’ll apologise. I’ll apologise unreservedly.”

The Environment Agency has also faced fresh anger after a senior official hailed its performance as a “success story”.

Director of operations David Jordan said that the 5,000 homes flooded during the winter storms were “individual tragedies”.

“But also we need to recognise that 1.3m other properties would have flooded if these flood defences had not been built,” he said.

“That is the success story, if you like, that we are talking about.”

Police were investigating whether seven-year-old Zane Gbangbola, who died after falling ill in his flood-hit home in Chertsey, Surrey, may have become a victim of the floods. Officers have refused to be drawn on whether carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator pumping out flood water from his home may have been to blame, which also saw his parents, Kye Gbangbola and Nicole Lawler, taken ill.

Heavy rain and winds of more than 60mph died down yesterday but the brief respite will be broken by another storm expected tonight. However Yorkshire is not expected to be heavily hit.

There are nearly 300 low-level flood alerts and almost 200 medium-risk warnings in place across Wales and central and southern England. The Met Office warned that river levels are expected to continue rising along the Thames, the Severn and the Dorset Stour.

Two severe flood warnings remain place in the Somerset Levels – where villages are cut off and many residents have already been forced from their homes after weeks of heavy rain. The Prince of Wales, the Prime Minister and Environment Secretary have all visited the Levels in recent weeks and the latest politician to visit was Ukip leader Nigel Farage. During a visit to Burrowbridge, he called for a public inquiry and for the Government to compensate victims.

Residents affected by flooding have also criticised what they called “flood tourists”. In Burrowbridge, which is popular with tourists because of the Burrow Mump heritage site, cars have caused traffic problems by parking on the side of the main road through the village.

The chairman of the Energy and Climate Change Committee, Tim Yeo, has also called for firms which fail to restore electricity supplies within set times to face fines, following the storms which caused major power blackouts over Christmas.

The West Country is no longer cut off by rail after services resumed after being suspended because of the severe storms.

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