THE RISK of flooding in a market town could be reduced through mobile phone technology.

Residents of Linton Park, Bromyard, were among the hundreds who suffered from devastating flooding last summer.

But an early-warning system proposed for the River Frome could give them a headstart against rising waters.

The Environment Agency (EA) has approached Defra to fund the system, which could be completed by late summer.

Electronic metres, placed near Bredenbury and Bromyard, would send readings to the EA office at Cardiff at intervals between five and 30 minutes, providing an advance warning to local authorities.

Herefordshire council member Bernard Hunt informed town councillors about the project, saying it would benefit the town.

"The important thing here is, for the first time ever, we and the fire bridge will have a warning," he said.

"We'll be looking very closely at the details, but it seems the damage and chaos that happened last July hopefully won't happen again."

The move follows EA's upgrading of the Frome from a tributary of the Lugg to a sub-catchment area. EA press officer Martin Watkins said the project needed time and money and ruled out immediate success.

"Because the Frome is so high up on the catchment area, it's a bit more difficult to predict a warning time," he said.

"We have to work out if there's going to be a reasonable warning - and if it's 10 or 15 minutes, there's not much you can do."

Bromyard Town Council and the EA have urged property owners along the Frome to play their part by keeping the river banks clean. While the EA oversees the river, landowners are responsible for the riverbank, and debris could lead to minor flooding.