HUNDREDS of tonnes of shingle and stone have been removed from West Somerset watercourses in a bid to reduce the risk of flooding.
The Environment Agency has taken steps to improve water-flow in streams at Porlock, Wootton Courtenay, Roadwater, Timberscombe and Williton.
In the most recent operation, 200 tonnes of shingle and stone were shifted from the Hawkcombe Stream, Porlock.
The agency used Cornish contractor TJ Brent to remove manually a large quantity of sand, stone and boulders that had accumulated in an old culvert that runs under High Street.
All the debris will be re-used rather than create a waste mountain.
The recovered shingle and stone will be stored at a depot owned by the National Trust ready for Exmoor National Park workers to put to various purposes including pathways and cob walls.
John Rowlands, of the Environment Agency, said: "This is another good example of our work on the ground to minimise flood risk.
"It was a tough job and the contractor must be congratulated on competing an awkward task.
"We would also like to thank local residents for putting up with the noise and disruption while work was in progress."
In other similar work, the agency has already recovered 500 tonnes of stone and shingle from a stream at Wootton Courtenay and 800 tonnes from Roadwater.
And the agency's workforce cleared out a 40-metre length of shingle that had collected above Timberscombe and has also been removing obstructions from streams and channels in Williton.
"During high river flows and heavy rainfall, shingle and stones are washed down from Exmoor into local watercourses and this has accumulated over the years.
"By clearing out this material, floodwater will be able to flow more freely and this will reduce the risk of flooding in these areas," said Mr Rowlands.
The Environment Agency workforce is now undertaking beach re-profiling in Minehead. This involves the redistribution of sand to enable the wave return wall - an integral part of the town's sea defences - to function effectively.