THE flood defences in Kempsey are being improved to give homes in the village even better protection.

The £1.7 million defences, which opened in July 2012, failed just four months after they were unveiled which led to homes flooding in the village, causing initial embarrassment for the Environment Agency.

A sensor failed when it became submerged which meant the pumps designed to clear the deluge did not work properly and about 20 homes flooding in the village from the Hatfield Brook on Sunday, November 25, 2012.

The defences consist of both a bund, protecting the village from flooding from the River Severn and pumps to clear the brook.

However, since the flooding happened work by the Environment Agency has been carried out to improve the defences with more work being carried out before Easter this year.

Richard Bentley, asset performance team leader for the Environment Agency, said of the work which is now underway: “We are carrying out works to the Kempsey Flood Alleviation Scheme that aim to improve its operational efficiency, effectiveness and resilience.

"We review the effectiveness of our defences after every major flood event and this work was identified as a result of this review.

"Funding was secured late summer 2014 and works are due to be completed by Easter 2015.

"The works have been planned and are being undertaken so that they will not affect the integrity of the defence or operation of the scheme ensuring continued protection to the local community throughout the construction period.”

David Harrison, the Malvern Hills district councillor for the village, who has already visited the site to inspect the work said he had never seen so many Environment Agency officials in the village.

He said: "It is absolutely wonderful and reassuring for the local residents."

During the flooding event residents from the village's Church Street, including a veteran of the D-Day landings in 1944, were evacuated by dinghy in the dead of night.

Since the floods an emergency generator was set up so that if the electricity supply to the pumps fails they can still operate.

Manual back-up is also now available in the event of the pumps failing with EA staff dispatched to the village from Tewkesbury when the brook reaches a certain level, before the first of two pumps kick in.