Work is due to begin today to repair flood defences along two east Suffolk communities.

The work, undertaken by the Environment Agency (EA), will see repairs made to the blockwork of the flood defence along the River Deben at Woodbridge and Melton.

The blockwork protects the defences, which reduces the risk of flooding to people and properties in the two communities.

The work will involve a maximum of 221 metres of repairs along the river.

A spokesman for EA said: “Our project consists of work to repair and maintain the condition of the erosion protection along this stretch of the tidal river.

“We are doing these works so the defences continue to reduce the risk of flooding to people and property in Woodbridge and Melton for many years to come.

“The existing defences successfully reduced the risk of flooding in the 2013 and 2007 tidal surge events but we need to be confident that any further flood events can be withstood for many years to come.”

The spokesman added that during the period that repairs are taking place, that the existing standard of flood protection would be maintained.

The spokesman added: “Our access to the work area will be a long the adjacent footpath.

“As the access is narrow and the works are of limited scale in their extent, the works will typically be undertaken by two men with a motorised barrow moving materials along the footpath.

“Footpath access for the public will be maintained.

“At the end of the project, the footpath will be reinstated to the condition it was in prior to the works.”

The repairs to the flood defences are scheduled to take about three months, and should largely be completed before the Easter holiday period.