VILLAGERS at Tarrant Gunville rolled their sleeves up and donned their wellies to clear out around 400 tons of silt in their river which had built up over decades.

Now they are being held up as a role model for flood prevention work at North Dorset District Council.

David Milsted told fellow district councillors how the parish council seized the initiative to deal with flooding, rustled up a team of volunteers and committed funding to the project.

Guidance was sought from the Environment Agency and their efforts effectively reduced flood risk in North Dorset while achieving "a demonstrable outcome in which the local community could take pride and pleasure".

"And it was fun", said Mr Milsted.

He told the Echo: "We urge our local councils to take the initiative in providing local solutions to local problems as Tarrant Gunville Parish Council has done and thereby transform their councils from parish talking shops to community leaders who seize the opportunity to get good things done for their communities."

The river Tarrant had silted up, reducing the capacity of the ditch and causing the river to overflow in winter, flooding the road and exacerbating the surface water problem on the south of the road, reported resident spokesperson Paul Wentworth.

The parish hired contractors - paid for by residents with water frontage on a "per metre" basis, by donations from other villagers and by a grant from NDDC.

But the machines couldn't get under some of the bridges so gangs of tunnellers waded in while others tidied the banks, provided refreshments and made a bonfire of the undergrowth trimmings.

"Although clearing under the bridges was hard work there was no shortage of volunteers and a strong sense of community spirit was very evident," said Mr Wentworth.

"There was a great sense of team work and achievement and we made sure that the budget stretched to a few well-earned beers around the bonfire when the work was completed."

First published: Sept 3