Canvey councillors have welcomed news that residents in Essex can apply for extra funds to help prevent their homes from flooding.

Essex County Council has received a £100,000 boost from the Environment Agency to further prepare property to withstand vast amounts of rainfall.

The scheme offers a £5,000 grant to homeowners whose homes have flooded previously, and Canvey councillors Dave Blackwell and Ray Howard have urged Canvey residents to apply.

Mr Blackwell said: “It’s a huge relief for the people who have already applied for it and I would urge people to keep applying and re-apply if needs be.

“We need to push for it and we need to bring the situation back into the domain, but it’s great that we have the extra funding.”

Mr Blackwell reminded residents that flooding doesn’t just happen in the winter.

He added: “What happens is we go through spells where it doesn’t rain and people forget about it and as a result it’s not taken seriously enough. The last two floods we have had have actually come in the summer when we’ve had monsoon like rainfall and obviously we had a harrowing situation three years ago when over 1,000 people’s properties flooded.”

Mr Howard was delighted with the announcement.

He said: “Absolutely I welcome the extra funding, it is very good news all round.

“Essex is a very large area so there are many areas to cover but Canvey does get a large chunk of that and rightfully so.

“I echo what councillor Blackwell has said and we will work together on this like we have done so well in the past.

“We recently had a visit from the Flood Minister who spent a good hour-and-a-half having a look at our excellent defences and pumping stations, so overall that was a success.”