THE risk of flooding to properties from surface water on roads in the Okehampton area is being tackled with a blitz on highway drainage problems.

A Devon County Council programme of drain clearance and improvement works is being carried out around the county to try to reduce the risk of flooding in affected areas.

Okehampton Local Services Officer Brian George said: ?We can?t guarantee we won?t get flooding if we have a severe storm, but we are hopeful what we do will make it far less likely.?

Mr George said an example of works which had been undertaken at a key area which had been identified as at risk of flooding, was the £20,000 drainage scheme at Spreyton created earlier this year. He pointed to the installation last year of a new culvert at Dry Bridge, Sticklepath as another example of a successful project.

Mr George said flood prevention work had been carried out across West Devon where a particular problem had been identified.

A recent council review of highways maintenance prompted an increase in the service delivered through the ?Parish Lengthsman? scheme which was introduced ten years ago.

Now funding of £140,000 has been given for an additional Lengthsman in seven council local services areas including Okehampton.

The Parish Lengthsmen can resolve minor drainage problems such as blocked gullies and drainage ditches, which could prevent water from draining away.

Around 95% of the road gullies on Devon?s 8,000 miles of roads are clearly mapped out on detailed highways documents.

But work is now underway to pinpoint the others, many of which are old and have become covered with debris and lost from view.

Once the road gully is located, it is uncovered and then listed for proper cleaning and clearance.

Executive member for the environment, Cllr David Morrish, said he was pleased the county council had introduced an additional programme of drainage schemes covering 200 properties at 72 high risk locations to minimise the likelihood of flooding where the existing highway drainage was considered substandard.

?Keeping the underlying road structure dry will also prolong its life,? he said.

?We know what heartache flooding can cause and it is pleasing to see something as simple as a metal detector playing its part,? he said.

We are now trying to put right the neglect of earlier years when highway maintenance budgets were cut.

?Those were false economies. The lesson must not be forgotten.?