The Environment Agency has responded to questions over why the Simeon Rec floodgates weren't fully closed during yesterday's floods.

Cllr Phil Jordan, leader of the Isle of Wight Council, has said a review into the processes will be launched.

He said yesterday: “I am informed that failure to close the Simeon Park gates in good time has added to the problem of flooding in and around the Strand and Monktonmead.  

"We are pressing the Environment Agency for straight answers as this simple flood prevention action falls under their operational remit.”

Isle of Wight County Press: Simeon Rec.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said today: “Our heartfelt sympathies go out to those who are experiencing the devastating impact of having their homes and businesses flooded.

“Our current priority is our emergency response across the Isle of Wight, Hampshire and Sussex, and we are working with local councils and the emergency services to prepare for more bad weather in the coming days and protect the community. We will review our response to this latest flood once we are out of this incident.

“As part of an overall review of our response to the intense rainfall across the Isle of Wight, we will review whether additional flood boards would have reduced the flooding at Monktonmead, given the volume of water and speed that levels rose, and whether we could have responded differently given the circumstances.

"This will help us improve our response to flooding, and that of our partners, in the future.

“River levels are likely to remain elevated over the next few days, along with the weather continuing to be unsettled, so we ask people to keep checking their flood risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep up to date with the latest situation."

Go to https://www.gov.uk/check-flood-risk

Alternatively, call Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or follow @EnvAgencySE on X (formerly known as Twitter) for the latest flood updates.

Follow the County Press live blog to catch up with all the flood related news.