Vital work carried out on the River Welland in Harborough in a bid to prevent flooding

Vital work is being carried out by the Environment Agency on the River Welland in Market Harborough this week in a bid to prevent flooding.

EA teams have been drafted in to the town to carry out dredging, de-silting and vegetation-clearing on the swollen fast-flowing river near the Kettering Road and Northampton Road bridges.

Workers using heavy machinery have been brought in after heavy rainfall over Christmas and New Year sparked a series of serious flooding incidents.

The Welland and River Jordan have burst their banks at least twice over the last few weeks.

An Environment Agency spokeswoman said: “The Environment Agency is carrying out routine dredging work identified last summer on the River Welland in Market Harborough, to maximise river flow around road bridges.

“Dredging is one part of our flood-risk management options.

“However, not all locations are suitable for dredging – understanding where dredging will and won’t work is key.”

She added: “We consider each location carefully, carrying it out where we have evidence it will make a justifiable difference.”