Essex County Council has received a £100,000 boost in funding to help protect residents’ homes from future flooding.

The authority was given the money by the Environment Agency, and will be injected into its Property Level Protection (PLP) scheme – an initiative which already has £145,000 to spend.

The scheme works by offering a £5,000 grant to homeowners whose houses have flooded previously, with the money tailored to individual homes to make them more resilient to flooding.

Properties are surveyed and then products recommended, such as waterproof airbricks, flood doors, waterproof brickwork liner, and pumps.

If protections are in excess of £5,000 though, the homeowner is asked to contribute.

The scheme is run by the council’s Essex Flood and Water Management team, and is said to be a cost-effective solution where only single properties have been flooded.

Only this August did Essex see flooding.

In Maldon, more than 1.6 inches of rain fell in just one day.

Elsewhere, traffic was stranded around places like Colchester and Chelmsford as the torrential showers tore through the county.

Councillor Mike Steptoe, deputy cabinet member for environment and waste, said: “Seeing your beloved home and possessions knee deep in flood water must be absolutely devastating but sometimes just a few preventative measures can help avoid that heartbreak.

“So I am delighted to receive this extra funding from the Environment Agency as I know it will be put to very good use and we can make sure that our residents can stay safe with the best protection possible.”

In the last financial year, the scheme protected 71 homes from flooding.

This year, the council hopes to provide protection for at least another 100.

The scheme’s existing sum of £145,000 was also provided by the Environment Agency, with help from Anglian Water, and more funding – about £100,000 - is expected later this year.

Residents who have suffered internal property flooding and have not since protected their homes can call 08447 981 261 to find out about available grants, or visit the council’s website for more information.

INFO: flood.essex.gov.uk.