A host of new flood barriers are to be installed across South Lanarkshire to protect people, property and infrastructure.

The mobile 'Floodstop' barrier is a flood defence system which can be assembled to any length or orientation by connecting one metre long modular units using weighted keys.

The modular units fill with rising flood water and, along with the weighted keys and hard-wearing gasket seals, create a solid flood barrier.

A test of the 'Floodstop' barrier took place at Clydesmill Community Fire Station in Cambuslang. The council's Flood Risk Management team rehearsed deploying the system with help from Scottish Fire and Rescue.

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Chair of South Lanarkshire Council Community and Enterprise Committee Councillor John Anderson said: "We have invested £40,000 to add this portable barrier system to our flood management resources and this trial run shows it will provide effective protection to help reduce the risk of damage and disruption caused by flooding.

"We are grateful to our colleagues in Scottish Fire and Rescue for their help as our team test and familiarise themselves with the Floodstop system and we will continue to work closely with them to identify flood risks and potential measures to reduce that risk."

SFRS Lanark Station Manager Andrew Kenna added: "We work in partnership with South Lanarkshire to identify areas where there might be a higher flood risk and to plan how that risk can be reduced and the most effective response in the event of a flood warning or actual flooding.

"As a benefit of this trial exercise our team identified that we could support more rapid deployment of the flood barrier by using high flow pumps on fire appliances to quickly fill the barrier blocks with the water that provides them with ballast."

(CM/MH)