A MAJOR campaign to increase awareness of flooding is kicking off in Worcestershire - with experts warning 20,000 properties are still "at risk" in the county.

Council chiefs are teaming up with the Environment Agency to try and get more householders aware of the dangers they potentially face.

The campaign has been sparked by research highlighting how most members of the public are still badly informed of their flooding risks - despite areas like Worcester regularly suffering.

The great floods of 2007 saw 4,500 properties across the county damaged and after that £12.5 million was pumped into new defences, including Worcester's Hylton Road bund.

The most recent serious flooding event was the February 2014 incident which saw the main Worcester Bridge closed and 163 properties affected, leaving a clean-up bill which topped £640,000 - and in January this year rivers also bust their banks.

The new campaign, which is lasting two weeks, is mainly being conducted on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and is known as Floodware.

Worcestershire County Council says there is still "a lot of work to be done" and said there are 1,700 established flood zones surrounding 20,000 properties still at risk.

Worcester-based flooding expert Mary Dhonau, chief executive of the 'Know Your Flood Risk' group said: "The true awfulness of being flooded out is something I think a lot of people don't understand.

"Generally a lot of progress has been made, because the onus has really been on local authorities to raise the bar.

"Those who have to manage flood risk are now better prepared but think most homeowners aren't fully aware of it, it's frightening really.

"People still don't realise how horrific flooding is - you can't replace all those memories once they are washed away.

"One thing I always emphasise is, flood defences might reduce the risk of it happening, but they won't take it away."

A recent YouGov poll of more than 2,000 UK adults revealed how just one in every five house buyers in the West Midlands check for flood risk before moving in.

A new draft six-year strategy for helping Worcestershire deal with future flooding, prepared at County Hall, is going out for consultation before Christmas.

Councillor Anthony Blagg, the county council's cabinet member for the environment, said: "The council continues to work hard with its partners to reduce the risk of flooding but residents, business owners and communities need to do their bit by finding out if they are at risk and knowing what they can do about it.

"The Environment Agency's campaign is a fantastic way to encourage this, and we are pleased to be working with them."

Nicola Manley, flood resilience advisor at the Environment Agency, said: "We want to work together to encourage people to check if they are at risk of flooding.

"If they are at risk we need them to protect their homes and businesses."