WINCHESTER is to host an evening to thank all those who helped combat the recent flood problems.

Members of the community, emergency services and council staff members are among those who will be thanked at a special event at the guildhall on Friday night (April 4) to mark their hard work throughout one of the wettest winters on record.

The event will be hosted by the Right Worshipful, the Mayor of Winchester, Cllr Ernie Jeffs. It will be attended by representatives of the district’s flood-hit communities, by partners including the Environment Agency, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, the Military and by Winchester City Council staff who ran the emergency control room.

Cllr Jeffs said: “I am delighted to have this opportunity to recognise and thank those who played such a major part in tackling the floods emergency in Winchester in the early months of 2014.

“This includes representatives from places such as Hambledon, who demonstrated such remarkable resilience, our partners including the Armed Forces, who provided boots on the ground when we needed them, and our own staff, who worked tirelessly to co-ordinate and deliver what is widely considered to be an effective floods response.

“Of course there is still more to do in terms of the clean-up, delivering financial support for those hardest hit, learning lessons and bidding for Government funds to increase our resilience in case of more floods in the future.”