THE national flood warning system is to come under scrutiny by county councillors and members of the public next week.Representatives of the Environment Agency, who run the system, have been invited to next Tuesday's meeting to explain how the flood warning system - which alerts people via phone, text or e-mail - works in practice.

THE national flood warning system is to come under scrutiny by county councillors and members of the public next week.

Representatives of the Environment Agency, who run the system, have been invited to next Tuesday's meeting to explain how the flood warning system - which alerts people via phone, text or e-mail - works in practice.

The presentation will respond to questions submitted by members of the public and will address specific points and concerns raised about the system, named Floodline Warning Direct.

There will then be a chance for committee members to ask questions and for follow up questions from those members of the public who have already submitted them.

The scrutiny follows concerns raised during a recent, wide-ranging consultation over the future of flood sirens in Norfolk.

Some respondents made it clear that they were not convinced by the Flood Warning Direct system's ability to be one hundred percent effective.

Ann Steward, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development, said: "During the flood siren consultation it became apparent our communities had questions about Floodline Warning Direct, varying from worries about its effectiveness and reliability to queries about how it is promoted.

“It seemed only right that if the county council could not answer those questions directly it should ask the responsible body to come and address some of the issues.”