FLOOD defences aimed at protecting homes and businesses in West Auckland and South Church were tested during the deluge as the water level at Spring Gardens Dam reached a record high.

The 15-metre dam was built upstream from Spring Gardens, West Auckland, nearly a decade ago and can store up to a million cubic metres of water when the River Gaunless floods, forming a lake up to a kilometre long.

It works by storing flood water and slowly releasing it and the protective measures kept the floods at bay during the latest downpour.

Among those keeping an eye on the weather was 64-year-old Mick Reid, whose home in Oakley Green, West Auckland, is close to both the Gaunless and its tributary, Oakley Cross Beck.

The retired offshore worker, who braved the rain to walk up to the dam, said: “That’s the highest I have ever seen it – and the Environment Agency officer I spoke to was expecting it to rise another metre.

“I could not believe what I saw – it was just like a lake. I know it has been constructed like that, but this is the first time I have seen the water going over the road in there.”

The £8.8m dam was completed in 2004, and Mr Reid said it, combined with other flood prevention measures carried out to protect homes from the Oakley Cross Beck flooding, had worked well.

“We went to see what the water level was like because the beck had burst its banks,” said Mr Reid.

“The work done at the time the dam was built has meant the water from the beck now disperses into the fields rather than onto the road and into the houses.

“In the past, I have had water right into the garden, but the flood defences have worked and proved their worth. I must congratulate the Environment Agency on it.”

The West Auckland and South Church flood defence scheme, of which Spring Gardens Dam was the centrepiece, was fast-tracked following flooding in 2000.

􀁧 NEWTON Aycliffe escaped the worst of the region’s flooding yesterday, but many motorists experienced problems on the roads surrounding the town.

Among the routes affected by surface water were Middridge Road, where there were reports of four large pools of water, and Skirlaw Road, where motorists were forced to drive up on the pavement to avoid large puddles.