SOUTH Yorkshire was today promised vital work was being carried out to prevent a repetition of last year's floods - as a new report reveals how unprepared Britain was for the disaster.
Multi-million pound improvements are being made to South Yorkshire's flood defences and hundreds of thousands of pounds more is being spent clearing debris from rivers.
Officials have revealed a host of measures aimed at lessening the likelihood of a similar disaster in the future.
But it comes as a new report reveals Britain was ill-prepared for last summer's devastating floods.
Sir Michael Pitt today published his Government-commissioned review, containing 92 recommendations on how the country could be better equipped in the event of another flooding crisis.
He will also tell ministers that firefighters will need more funding to tackle any future disasters.
Sir Michael said emergency services lacked training and resources - including inflatable dinghies to get to flooded areas and pumps to remove water which made rescue attempts difficult.
In his report, Sir Michael calls for the creation of a definitive electronic map of all Britain's drainage ditches and streams, better flood warnings and improved maintenance of drainage networks.
Sir Michael said: "What we are arguing is that we were not well prepared last summer for the scale of flooding that took place.
"Our recommendations are geared up to improve the response both locally and nationally. Most of the recommendations are not expensive. Most can take place within existing resources."
The Institution of Civil Engineers also today called for more Government money to be pumped into protecting commercial property and services in Sheffield from future floods.
But the Environment Agency said action already taken locally to prevent a repetition of the disaster includes £9 million of work by the Environment Agency in Sheffield, Barnsley, Chesterfield, Doncaster and Rotherham.
Sheffield Council also said it undertaking work to try to make sure the disaster is not repeated including gully and river clearance and plans to rebuild some bridges so more water can flow underneath, lessening the risk of blockages.
But the council has urged the Environment Agency to reconsider after the city was refused £20 million worth of funding for flood prevention work at Blackburn Brook and Porter Brook, both identified as high risk.
Council Leader Paul Scriven said: "Considering last year's devastating floods and the promises of support made by the Government at the time, it is totally unacceptable for them to now refuse to fund these vital flood prevention works.
"Sheffield suffered a huge amount of devastation and disruption due to floods. You would have thought we would be at the front of the queue, but the Government obviously feel differently."
Flooding affected more than 5,000 homes and businesses in South Yorkshire and north Derbyshire.
What do you think? Add your comment below.Relive the moment the rains came with your photos and videos from the timeDramatic video of woman's bid to cross the flooded WickerVideo footage as despair hits some of the area's worst flood victimsYour flooding pictures: Ulley Dam, Swinton, ChesterfieldMore photos sent in by readers immediately after the floodSee the pumps in action as South Yorkshire struggled to recoverRead more of our coverage from the first anniversary of the floodsOnly Sheffielders could laugh through this - VIDEOFlooded out, looted twice ... and then came baby CharlieWhere will the planned defence schemes go?Staggering 577 calls to firefightersOwls winning repair battleCouncil 'sorry' for road repairs delayPrince visit morale boostMain news indexLettersCheck out the very latest on South Yorkshire's roads - including live traffic cameras on Sheffield's commuter routes - with our Traffic sectionLatest sport.The full article contains 622 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
