‘All we can do is ask’: how flood defences depend on private owners’ cooperation

Environment Agency can do emergency work if life is at risk, but it's hard to make landowners in England carry out repairs

James Mead was out running in January 2017 when he received a call from a colleague at the Environment Agency. A sinkhole had swallowed up two spaces in the car park at Sheffield's Decathlon store and he needed to get there pronto.

Mead, on call for the Environment Agency as a senior adviser, legged it down to the city centre to inspect the damage. It happened overnight but just the previous day there would have been cars parked there. The worst-case scenario was very serious," he said.