Environment secretary Caroline Spelman has denied the government was caught napping over a second bout of flooding in as many weeks in the UK. Flash floods hit parts of rural Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cumbria over the weekend, depositing a month’s worth of rain in just a few hours.

Over 100 millimetres of rain fell on the North West overnight on Friday 22nd, setting record levels for the River Calder at Hebden Bridge. The Environment Agency continued to issue warnings over the weekend after the rainfall caused “extensive flooding.” The Agency said its staff worked over Friday night to monitor river levels, issue warnings and clear blockages in rivers to aid drainage.

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Late last week, farmers in Somerset saw fields flooded for the second time this year. The Environment Agency has been active on the Somerset Levels; Agency officers have begun pumping operations to alleviate the damage caused by recent flooding. Heavy rains in April also led to flooding in parts of Somerset.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said on Saturday, “Our thoughts are with those people who have been affected by the floods. We would urge public to remain vigilant and sign up to Environment Agency flood warnings, stay away from fast-flowing, swollen rivers and not to drive through floodwater.”

Spelman denies government was caught unawares by floods

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman denied the government was poorly prepared to deal with flooding; there have been accusations that government cuts exacerbated the problems caused by the past week’s flash floods. Ms Spelman said on Saturday, “We were not unprepared; we have flood forecasts every night as a matter of fact. The difficulty for the Met Office with a surface flooding incident is to know where a cloud burst will occur. Certainly the maps I saw last night indicated they would be where the rain did fall and I am just so sorry for the flood victims who are affected.”

However, speaking on Friday Eddy Carroll, Chief Forecaster at the Met Office had said, "Whilst Wales and northern England are expected to bear the brunt of the heaviest and persistent rain, there remains some uncertainty concerning where the highest accumulations will fall."

The Environment Secretary blamed the previous Labour government for cutting investment in flood measures, before acknowledging “We will only have a six per cent reduction per annum in spending on flood defences.” She claimed to have negotiated with the treasury for continued spending on flood defences and secured £2.17 billion for the purpose.

There are currently three flood warnings in place in the North of England and 15 alerts active, according to the Environment Agency, though 75 warnings have been lifted in the past 24 hours.

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