4 December 2007
Gordon Brown has thanked members of the emergency services involved in dealing with the floods that affected wide areas of the UK this summer.
In a Downing Street reception last night, the PM told 300 "local heroes" that he was "proud and so grateful" for their efforts in protecting life and infrastructure during the crisis.
Representatives from the army, fire service, HM Coastguard, the Royal National Lifeboat Institute and other bodies such as the British Red Cross, the Environment Agency and the RSPCA were all nominated for their commitment and hard work in the summer months.
Addressing the guests, the PM said:
"Thank you for protecting properties, thank you for providing warmth and friendship thank you for helping elderly people in particular, thank you for saving hundreds of thousands from losing their energy supplies, thank you for many people risking your own safety to save the lives of strangers."
Around 48,000 homes and 7,000 businesses were affected in June and July by serious flooding, with parts of Gloucestershire, Yorkshire and Humberside hardest hit.
Mr Brown said that the response to the flooding showed that "people are prepared to support each other in times of need".
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