Isle of Wight flooding: Environment Agency to review flood defence in Ryde

A pub landlord whose business was hit by flooding has said defences were not put in place in time.

Richard Adams, who runs the Simeon Arms in Ryde, Isle of Wight, found his pub cellar had been flooded on Wednesday morning.

An amber warning, issued by the Met Office, came into effect on the island at just after 06:00 BST, but he said defences were only put in at lunchtime.

The Environment Agency said it would review how well it performed.

Four flood warnings were in place on the Isle of Wight, and some areas saw 97mm of rain.

Motorists were left stranded in some of the most severely impacted areas as the rain fell heavily during the morning rush hour.

Cars were left submerged and drivers had to abandon their vehicles due to the floodwater.

Pub landlord Mr Adams told the BBC he had "never seen anything like it" and his cellar was flooded "right up to the ceiling" leaving much of his stock destroyed.

He said: "Some people are saying that the barriers didn't go in until yesterday afternoon. Even yesterday morning was way too late."

Ryde residents took to social media to express their frustrations at the response to the flooding.

One local said: "Lost for words! This multi-million pound flood defence was supposed to stop flooding."

Another added: "If the flood gates were shut the damage would be significantly smaller."

Some people said they thought more should have been done "before the rain".

There was also disruption to public transport on Wednesday.

The Island Line Railway was flooded between Ryde Pier Head and Shanklin, with all lines blocked and trains unable to run.

Flood warnings remain in place for much of the island on Thursday afternoon, with four severe flood warnings for Gurnard, Carisbrooke, Whitwell and Monktonmead Brook.

Michael Turner, from the Environment Agency, said: "We prepared the scheme for operation for the rainfall forecast.

"We always monitor the effectiveness of our schemes."

He added the agency would conduct a wider review to ensure its "response is as effective as it can be and that any lessons are learnt".

Have you been affected by the flooding? Get in touch.

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