Flood defences will be bolstered across the borough following the recent adverse weather, including by Chester’s River Dee.

That was the message from Cheshire West and Chester Council leader Mike Jones who explained that The Cop and The Groves were prone to flooding when the Dee bursts its banks.

Fearful residents near The Cop in Sealand Road and New Crane Street have had to sandbag their front doors in recent weeks.

“That’s probably why it’s called The Cop, I don’t know,” joked Cllr Jones on Chester radio station Dee 106.3. “Yes, it is an area that’s vulnerable, as is The Groves and we had two houses by Grosvenor bridge, one’s called Nowhere, because it’s in the middle of nowhere right on the river bank, and they are susceptible as well. There are areas where engineering schemes can actually work and there are other areas where potentially you can’t do a lot about it.”

Asked how The Groves could be protected, he added: “It’s very difficult because it’s a lovely area and you can’t just build horrible brick walls to keep the water out because that would take away from the ambience of the area because it’s a really beautiful place to walk and to spend time, particularly on a sunny day. So it is that balance between how do you protect areas and what the cost is and of course what it looks like.”

Cllr Jones, who praised council staff for doing a ‘fantastic job’ in dealing with the effects of last Wednesday’s storms, said government had provided £4.5m and the council £500,000 towards flood defences at Northwich, which is vulnerable due to the confluence of the Rivers Weaver and Dane.

Flooding issues had also recently become apparent in Parkgate and Neston which must be resolved.