A £26 million flood protection project has won a national accolade.

The Morpeth Flood Alleviation development received the Project of the Year prize at the Constructing Excellence Awards in London.

The multi-million pound scheme, a joint project between the Environment Agency and Northumberland County Council, includes upstream storage and urban flood defences. It is thought to have prevented hundreds of properties from flooding last winter when the dam operated for the first time.

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It is designed to reduce the risk of flooding to 1,000 homes and businesses, with the capacity to store 1.4 million cubic metres of water.

As the largest project of its kind in the north east, the scheme was jointly funded and delivered by the Environment Agency and the local council.

Cllr Ian Swithenbank said: "This was a great example of agencies working together on a hugely ambitious engineering project.

"The real key to this scheme has been the work with the community, and their input and engagement has been absolutely invaluable. The fact the scheme has already been called into action shows its value to Morpeth residents. We're delighted the scheme has won this prestigious award."

(LM/CD)