An extra £1.2M is being released to 39 local authorities worst affected by the July floods, floods recovery minister, John Healey, has announced.

The extra financial comes in addition to the £6.2M distributed earlier to 36 local authorities. Mr Healey said that local councils would be free to decide how best to use the money allocated to help those people in greatest need.

The announcement means that around £17.5M of funding has now been released to help vulnerable households, following this summer’s floods in June and July.

The minister said: ‘Over the last few weeks, we have worked closely with local authorities to get a clear assessment of damage to ensure we could target support to areas most in need. I know this money will make a difference to communities as will the other financial support we have announced, as well as extra support through the special Bellwin scheme and help for businesses.’