IT's a decade since devastating floods brought Worcestershire to its knees. 2007 was Britain's wettest May to July since records began in 1776, causing destruction across the country. In our latest anniversary report, we look at the action that has been taken to protect towns and villages in the county and try to stop the scenes of 10 years ago occurring again.

FLOOD defences were built across the county after the devastating floods of 2007.

Worcestershire County Council invested £16 million in flood risk management and drainage improvements, and co-operated with district councils to develop a range of alleviation projects.

Defences have been built in Upton, Pershore, Kempsey, Powick, Worcester, Bewdley and Uckinghall since the floods.

The Environment Agency spent £1.7 million on flood defences in Kempsey, which were officially opened in July 2012.

A £4 million water storage area was built in Broadway after the floods, with the scheme designed to hold up to 135,000 cubic metres of liquid.

A £765,000 flood defence barrier was constructed in Powick and £1.5 million was spent on a flood wall, pumping station and embankment in Uckinghall.

Upton was one of the hotspots of the 2007 floods and a £4.5 million flood alleviation scheme was built in the town after the disaster.

This was completed in 2012 and included the construction of a permanent flood wall.

Cllr Tony Miller, cabinet member for the environment, said: "The flooding of 2007 was devastating and many Worcestershire residents and businesses are still recovering.

"However the county council and its partners have made significant progress in the last ten years and the risk of flooding has been reduced for hundreds of homes, businesses and important infrastructure.

"We must not be complacent though. There is still a considerable amount of work to do in order to reduce both the likelihood and impact of flooding in the future.

"The county council and the other organisations which manage flood risk, will continue to do their utmost to achieve this but it is essential that communities and individuals who are at risk also take responsibility and act to help themselves."

Harriett Baldwin, MP for West Worcestershire, said: “I spent a lot of time with local people in 2007 who had been affected by flooding and the sudden summer rain was devastating for so many people.

“I will continue to press for permanent schemes in areas like Tenbury and Severn Stoke and support efforts to encourage people to use individual property protection measures where necessary to reduce the impact of major flooding.”

Over 4,700 homes and businesses in Worcestershire were affected by the floods, with the disaster causing millions of pounds worth of damages.

Look back at the 2007 summer floods in Worcestershire with our picture gallery here.