Agency praisedfor flood work

Areas of Rye came to within inches of flooding as the after-effects of a tidal surge swept along the coast.

Water rose to 5.1 metres and swept over Strand Quay, but luckily a flood defence wall there held.

This week Colonel Anthony Kimber, chairman of Rye emergency group REACT, said the situation could have been far worse if there had been heavy rain and sodden ground at the time.

He told Rye councillors: “The situation was aggravated by wind.

“The main concern was the corner by the old Total garage where we had hefty jets of water coming through at ground level.

“The Environment Agency is addressing this.

“The Environment Agency were there throughout the night and they worked tirelessly to monitor the situation.”

Rye Council’s planning committee chairman Cllr Bernardine Fiddimore said: “We would like to extend a vote of thanks to the Environment Agency for helping to keep Rye safe.”

Cllr Granville Bantick said: “What they did was extremely good.”

Cllr John Breeds said: “The earlier proactive work they did in raising the height of the flood wall must be recognised. Without that we could have been looking at a major disaster.

Icklesham Parish Council also praised the Environment Agency for it’s work. The council covers Rye Harbour which suffered damage to paths at the nature reserve.