Brown flies in to see flood damage

The Prime Minister has seen first hand the devastation caused to large swathes of western England which have been deluged by flooding.

Gordon Brown flew by helicopter over the stricken county of  Gloucestershire, England where thousands of people have been left without clean water.

He then arrived at  Gloucestershire Constabulary Police headquarters to see how the emergency response is being co-ordinated.

Mr Brown met Gold Command, the multi-agency team which includes police, fire and rescue officials, Gloucestershire County Council and representatives from  Severn Trent Water.

The Prime Minister was briefed on the latest situation across the county and was told how strategy was being developed to deal with the flooding.

He was also meeting Silver Command, made up of representatives from Gloucestershire Police and Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, to discuss how matters at key sites are being dealt with.

Mr Brown spent some 15 minutes flying over Gloucester, which in

some places is still several feet under water.

Environment Secretary  Hilary Benn has defended the Government's flood preparation, saying nothing could have guarded against the amount of rainfall in recent days.