Flood help grant of £9.7m offered

The scheme will also look at dealing with flooding in the future

Thousands of people in the North East are to receive a share of £9.7m to protect their homes against flooding.

People in Morpeth and Redcar will benefit from the scheme which will be distributed by the Northumbria Regional Flood Defence Committee (RFDC).

The cash will be used to protect more than 2,000 homes by raising the sea wall and replacing ageing defences.

The project comes after the areas have been ravaged by floods during the past several years.

Climate change

Regional flood and coastal risk manager Phil Younge said: "This year we will continue to make good progress with schemes such as Morpeth and Redcar.

"Together, these schemes will offer better levels of protection against flooding.

"However, the onslaught of climate change means that we have to look at alternative ways of flood protection.

"We cannot afford to rely on walls and barriers alone, so the funding will also be used to continue our work into understanding our region's river catchments."

It is hoped the bulk of the work will be finished by 2013.