[Margaret Pilkington]

I think that now the floods are nearer the capital something might just get done.
People live on reclaimed land in the Nederlands....but the drainage systems are better managed.

On the Somerset levels, farmers used to be allowed to dredge their ditches and the portion of the river that crossed their land, the enviroment agency banned them from doing this. Not only that, they said they would prosecute farmers who did do their own dredging.

There was a man on Sky TV this morning who said thet the River Thames had not been dredged since Maggie Thatcher was in power....so while you can argue that is the builders fault, or the planners fault, responsibility for much of the chaos should be laid at the door of the chumps in charge(not the workers - the men on the front line) of the environment agency and government who have sought to reduce costs. Those are the real rogues!