SOMERSET County Council has invited government ministers and flood experts to see first-hand the devastating flooding that has hit the area.

Ministers from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and members of the all-party Parliamentary group on flooding have been invited to the county.

They will visit the flooded in community of Muchelney near Taunton, see the state of the currently closed A361 and view the Levels.

Council leader John Osman said: “People want action, not words, and it is time the Government fronted up.

“We have done everything in our power, but we still have people cut off, we still have major roads closed and we still have people stranded, worried and picking up the pieces of their life.

“The government can, and must, put its hand in its pockets and step in.”

He said investment could mean river dredging, engineering projects or grants for specific flood prevention schemes.

Meanwhile, Peter Maltby, chairman of the Somerset Drainage Boards Consortium and Parrett Drainage Board, is lending his support to the County Council’s campaign to secure ‘Fairer Funding for Somerset’ to deal with flooding in the county.

Mr Maltby said: “We desperately need more funding to invest in dredging in the county. Dredging the local waterways would vastly improve the situation, it would prevent future flooding and protect many communities in low lying areas. We need to get it sorted - and quickly.”

To support the campaign, visit www.facebook.com/fairerfundingforsomerset or use the hash tag #fairerfundingforsomerset on Twitter.