Preston and South Ribble set to benefit as £62m in extra funding for flood defences across England announced

The Boxing Day floods in 2015 devastated areas in and around Preston

The Government said on Tuesday that the extra cash will fund 13 projects, mainly in Yorkshire, Cumbria and the North East and including areas like the Calder Valley and Tadcaster, which both saw serious flooding in the days following Christmas 2015.

Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers said the £62.35 million pledge would help protect more than 9,000 homes and was in addition to the Government's current £2.6 billion flood defence programme.

The projects will include £19 million for the Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, where schemes will be developed in the towns of Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge and Brighouse.

The funding will also see schemes go ahead on the other side of the Pennines with £22.8 million allocated to four projects in Kendal, Egremont, Flimby and Preston and South Ribble.

Victims of Lancashire's Boxing Day floods tell of their year of struggle

Outside the north, the announcement also covers schemes in Essex and Lincolnshire.

Ms Villiers said: "I am delighted to announce over £60 million of additional funding to better protect communities which are vulnerable to flooding, particularly across parts of northern England.

"Events this summer have shown that investing in flood risk management is more important than ever, and this funding builds on our long-standing £2.6 billion commitment to better protect 300,000 homes from flooding and coastal erosion over six years."

Emma Howard Boyd, chairwoman of the Environment Agency and UK commissioner on the Global Commission on Adaptation, said: "This extra funding will help us to go even further in our mission to better protect communities up and down the country from the terrible effects of flooding.

"We will work closely with these communities to design and build projects which not only reduce flood risk but which also benefit wildlife and the local economy for decades to come.

"This vital investment comes on the same day that the Global Commission on Adaptation has released a report which issues a rallying cry to the international community to invest more in climate resilience including better protection for flood risk."

According to Defra, the Environment Agency has completed construction of more than 500 new flood and coastal erosion schemes since April 2015.

It said the Government will set out a policy statement on preparations for flood and coastal erosion later this year.