Sandbags have been delivered to at-risk residents and sluice gates have been opened across the Canterbury district due to mounting flood fears.

A substantial amount of rain has fallen in recent days and river levels are close to bursting.

Council engineers have therefore been out and about since the early hours of this morning checking defence and clearing blockages in brooks and the Stour.

Meanwhile, waste contractor Serco has been delivering sandbags to those properties most at risk of imminent flooding.

There have yet to be any reports of water seeping into properties, but the Stour's peak flow is not estimated until tomorrow.

It is set to be at its highest in late Friday afternoon and into the early evening.

Some of the problems being encountered by engineers are as a result of the surface water run-off system being overwhelmed.

Flood warnings - which require immediate safety action to take place - are enforced at Hampton's West Brook, and at Swalecliffe Brook, while lower level flood alerts are also scattered across the district.

A fallen tree was cleared from the Stour this morning, and regular checks are being made throughout the day to see if anything else needs removing from the water.

Earlier this week, river campaigners told KentOnline how they fear a repeat of devastating floods seen in 2000/01 and 2014 should blockages on the Stour not be cleared.

The council says water levels at Plenty Brook, Herne Bay; West Brook; Hampton; Kite Farm Ditch, Swalecliffe and Gorrell Stream, Whitstable, are starting to drop but will still be monitored.

Those in an emergency are urged to call the council's out-of-office hours contact 01227 781879 for the on-call flood duty engineer.

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