MEMBERS of a newly-formed safety group tested the waters in their first outing in new roles to protect their town.

Led by Town Cllr Terry Christie, the Haltwhistle flood wardens group was joined by Environmental Agency worker Colin Hall at Haltwhistle Burn to understand more about their roles and what procedures they must do when there is a risk of flooding in the area.

The visit to the river was planned after Colin attended a town meeting asking for volunteers to create a flood warden group and a few months later a team was formed.

Cllr Christie said: "We first met Colin at a local council meeting earlier in the year, so I came on as a lead warden and then I asked my wife Rachel to get involved which urged a few other residents of the town to want to be involved as well.

"There are half a dozen of us now and the benefit of living on the burn is that we can monitor the level where we live from our living room.

"I am very surprised to see how many people joined the group, especially as the appeal for flood wardens was only a few months ago but it is great to see so many people want to help."

On the walk around the burn, Colin also spoke of upcoming events and future training with AI technology which could be used for flood warnings.

He said: "We have a network of over 200 volunteers across the North East.

"There are 35 groups across Northumberland whom I work with, and it is important as it means the communities such as Haltwhistle have a better resilience of flooding as we deal with climate change - so everyone is aware where the biggest challenges will be for flood risks.

"So, it is important for a community to be ready, as it is a big societal issue now.

"By all working together and having effective lines of communication we can all keep an eye on forecasts and create forewarnings with flood wardens working alongside us to help protect the community."