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Wainfleet flooding: Norfolk County Council to hold inquiry

PA Aerial view of townPA
The River Steeping burst its banks after the equivalent of about two months' rain fell in two days

An independent inquiry into a flood which forced hundreds of people out of their homes in Lincolnshire is set to be held by a neighbouring council.

About 600 houses were evacuated in Wainfleet when the River Steeping burst its banks on 12 June.

A Norfolk County Council spokesman confirmed the authority was in "early discussions" about conducting a review into the floods.

The investigation could begin next week and run until November.

RAF helicopters were drafted in to drop bags of ballast in a £1m operation to fill a breach in the riverbank after the equivalent of two months' rain fell in two days.

Some residents are not expected to return to their homes for months, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Derek and June Driver are living in the caravan while their home is renovated.

Councillor Colin Davie, of Lincolnshire County Council, said a review by the authority itself would have "thrown up some issues".

"We felt that it was right to have that relationship properly scrutinised independently," he said.

"Norfolk will conduct a proper investigation and they will produce a report that will come to our scrutiny process."

On Friday, Conservative MP Matt Warman told a public meeting that the government had "failed" the town's residents.