A £53m flood prevention scheme in Glasgow has been described as "pioneering" and won a national award.

Organisers at the Waterways Renaissance Awards in Birmingham bestowed the accolade on the White Cart Water Flood Prevention Scheme.

It won top prize in the Flood Risk Management category.

They said: "The completed scheme was the first in Scotland to seek a solution that was not constrained by local authority boundaries. It also sought to maximise the positive environmental outcomes rather than simply carrying out minimal mitigation."

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The engineering project, officially opened last October, protects about 1750 homes and businesses along the banks of White Cart Water, a river prone to flash flooding.

It also enhanced Glasgow's biodiversity as new artificial habitats, including woodland, scrub, grasslands and ponds, were created.

Glasgow City Council's Bailie Liz Cameron said the award was a "fantastic" achievement for an "ambitious" project.

The Executive Member for Jobs and the Economy said: "The White Cart Flood Prevention Scheme is not just about great engineering, at its heart is a regeneration project. The scheme will allow future economic development to take place in the area due to the significant enhancements and environmental improvements carried out."

Since 1908 there have been more than 20 significant floods of White Cart Water, caused by relatively minor storms, as just 12 hours of rainfall can cause the water levels to rise by six metres.

The scheme has already been successfully tested following storms in February 2011, November 2011 and January 2012.

(NE/GK)