What caused the flooding in Burnham Market in Norfolk?

The streets of Burnham Market have been under water for a week after a stream running through its centre burst its banks.

Homes and businesses have had to install pumps to drain flooded basements.

The parish council has demanded an emergency meeting with Anglian Water.

A car drives through floodwater in Burnham Market (Image: Chris Bishop)

An AW spokesman said the problem had been caused by river water overflowing into its sewers, in a repeat of flooding that occurred in 2021.

"Our sewer systems are designed to take away the waste from homes and businesses, but the nature of what they are there to do means they are not sealed systems, and excess rainwater or groundwater can infiltrate them during extreme wet weather," he said.

"In the last few years, we’ve invested extensively in the area totalling around £1.6m, with £1.46m of this being invested to increase storm storage and capacity in Burnham’s water recycling centre, so this has enabled the system to operate normally for far longer than it previously would have done in such extreme weather.

Flooding at Burnham Market after an ancient watercourse called the Goose Beck burst its banks (Image: Chris Bishop)

"Previously, where we’ve used tankers to support local councils, as the lead local flood authorities, in trying to take away ground or river water, even when our network is operating as it should, it’s proved an impossible task when the water levels are so high. We’ll continue working with the council to understand if there’s anything further we can do."

The Environment Agency said it had been carrying out maintenance on the River Burn, which has also burst its banks on the outskirts of the village and at nearby South Creake, which has also suffered flooding after recent heavy rains.

It added: "Before and during high river flow events, our teams carried out additional checks along the river to ensure conveyance and remove any potential blockages.”