A DISABLED Stubbins woman can now access her garden after workmen repaid a favour while installing a new flood defence system designed to protect 164 homes and businesses in the village.

Anne Thompson allowed staff from the Environment Agency to use her back garden for about eight months to carry out tasks needed to install the system next to the River Irwell.

And as a thank you, the agency transformed her garden from an overgrown jungle into an accessible area which she can now enjoy.

Anne, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, said: "It was a landscaped garden, but for about four or five years I have not been able to get to it, so it became really overgrown.

"They wanted to use the land to work on the defences, so I asked if they could make sure they made it wheelchair-friendly afterwards, which they have, and they have done a fantastic job."

The flood defence system, which was officially opened two weeks ago, runs by Pin Meadow, behind Robert Street, along a raised footpath and then behind Cuba industrial estate.

It was funded by a £1.279 million grant from the Government’s Flood Defence Grant in Aid pot, and is designed to protect homes from flooding, such as in the summer of 2012.

Anne, who works as a welfare assistant at Stubbins Primary School, has not seen her house flooded in the past 30 years she has lived there, but fears that it could in future due to climate change.

She said: "It has been a close run thing in the past, but I have been told because of climate change, it is just a matter of time before we will get flooded. But hopefully this new scheme will stop this."

The opening of the flood defence system was attended by Rossendale MP Jake Berry, and Cllr Darryl Smith, Conservative group leader at Rossendale Council, who said people in the village were delighted at how quickly the Environment Agency acted in installing the scheme.

Mark Garratt, Environment Agency flood risk manager, added: “We are delighted that the Stubbins flood defences are now complete, reducing the risk of flooding to more than 160 local homes and businesses.”