Work to help protect around 500 homes and businesses from flooding in Tetney is now complete.

The Environment Agency (EA) has carried out a £127,000 de-silting project on a section of the Tetney Haven, helping reduce flood risk and boosting the area's ecology.

The seven-week scheme saw excess silt removed from approximately one kilometre of the Louth Canal and from around the sluice gates at Tetney Lock.

The material was then spread on the salt marsh adjoining the banks of the channel, and work was also done to improve drainage on the salt marsh. These improvements help the natural wetting and draining cycles of the soil that encourage vegetation to grow.

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The plants help prevent erosion and stabilise land which serves as a front line of flood defence by absorbing much of the force of tidal waves.

The EA is set to spend around £12m on flood defence maintenance in the next year to reduce risk to local communities.

Andy Charlesworth, Asset Performance Advisor with the EA, said: "This is a perfect example of how we aim for the most benefit for people and the environment from everything we do.

"We have a regular programme of inspection and maintenance on our flood defences, and we're always looking for ways to achieve extra benefits at the same time. In this case, while we had our equipment on-site, we were able to use it in another way to give a boost to ecological conditions in the surrounding area at no extra cost."

(LM/JP)