COLUMN: Future flood system must be better, says MP

That means that huge numbers of constituents know how important it is to take responsibility for keeping their properties safe and secure – but it also means that huge amounts of state money is spent on flood defence. Be that the Drainage Boards or the Environment Agency, the Coastguard or the Emergency Services, there are plans in place for a range of events. All of them are made in the hope of never being used.

In Wainfleet, however, in recent weeks, major flooding means they’ve been in full swing: even RAF Chinooks and the Army’s Royal Engineers have swung into action – the response from the local community and from all those agencies has been truly inspirational and I’d like to thank everybody for their commitment and their patience.

That said, however, it is vital that the authorities understand what caused the event to occur in the way it did: a huge volume of rainfall was the main reason, but questions about other aspects, such as maintenance and dredging, will not be ignored at my public meeting tomorrow.

Overall, one fact remains: for the future, we need a system that is better than the one we currently have, however it is maintained.

If the floods of June can help deliver those improvements, it may provide some comfort to those families who have suffered so much recently.