Lord Smith has said he is "very proud" of the agency's work and will not resign despite days of criticism over the response to the floods. His first visit to the area comes after Royal Marines were called in to get people to safety in Moorlands after flood defences broke on Thursday night. Facing a crowd of reporters, Lord Smith said: "I have no intention of resigning. I'm very proud of the work of the Environment Agency and its staff in the face of the most extreme weather." "Local people have made very clear the distress they've experienced and the difficulties they've been facing," he added. Winter weather Feb 7th Royal Marines arrived in the village on Thursday night Referring to one man who said he had heard "nonsense" from the Environment Agency during a meeting with residents, Lord Smith said: "We had a very good discussion about what we'll be able to do in terms of the dredging." "The important thing is to work out what we can do for the future of Somerset." Lord Smith said his employees had been "working their socks off" to try to alleviate the flooding - but did not apologise for the misery some are going through. Aerial shots of the flooding in Somerset The view across the Somerset Levels Other parts of the Levels, including North Moor, Fordgate and Salt Moor, were also evacuated overnight as flood waters rose by up to a metre. A police helicopter flew over the Moorlands overnight, urging people to leave. Jan MacEacharn, a Moorland resident, told Sky News she would not be leaving her home, despite official warnings. "I'm not moving out," she said. "I have a horse, cats and a dog. I'm not prepared to go and leave it for other people to come in looting." Severe Weather: Live Coverage Throughout The Day Ms MacEacharn said the government needed to do much more: "Send aid to your own country - get the jobs done in your own country first ... The Parrett (river) should have been dredged a long, long time ago." Members of 40 Commando Royal Marines were brought in last night to help the Somerset relief effort, where some villages have been surrounded by water for at least a month. Captain Tristan Stewart told Sky's Alex Rossi the military had been able to help many residents with flood defences, including sandbags. A map of flood warnings and alerts in England and Wales Around 400 flood warnings and alerts are in place across England and Wales "The key thing for us is being able to give back to a community," he said. "The Somerset community, and the local area, has helped us out so much during many of our deployments out to Afghanistan and overseas. "So to be able to come out here and provide the aid we can is a fantastic opportunity for the lads." The Marines have been using two Pinzgauer military trucks to help evacuate 140 properties, the Ministry of Defence said. Moorland resident Amante Witherick told Sky News there "was absolutely no need" for tannoy warnings from the police helicopter, which she said could scare elderly people. Tom Watson, Alan Johnson And Lord Smith Give Evidence At The Leveson Inquiry Lord Smith will visit the Somerset Levels for the first time today She said: "It was something like 'evacuate now, evacuate now, get out now'. "I was scared and I'm not their age ... They probably thought there were things this helicopter could see that they couldn't. "It's not a tsunami - I thought that was a little bit over the top." Some 5,000 properties have been affected by flooding across Britain. Saturday's weather forecast The stormy weather will continue this weekend Two severe flood warnings remain in place today for the South West. The first is for Salt Moor and North Moor, including Moorland. The second flood warning is in place for the A361 between East Lyng and Burrowbridge. Across the country, around 400 flood warnings and alerts have been issued by the Environment Agency. More rain is due across Britain today, however the Met Office predicts it should clear later. Lord Smith's visit comes a week after Environment Secretary Owen Paterson was heckled by local residents in Somerset. Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will also visit Somerset "when the time is right" and insisted his top priority was coordinating the Government's response. He said: "When it's right for me to visit I'll be there, don't worry. Storms Hit South West Of The UK Environment Agency staff build a flood wall in Moorland "I think it's absolutely vital. We've had ministerial visits in the past and there'll be more to come but the most important thing right now is to coordinate all the effort for people in Somerset." Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said today that he wanted to "hear answers" from the Environment Agency.

• published: 07 Feb 2014
• views: 0