TESCO has spent thousand of pounds clearing a tricky Ottery culvert- in the hope it will alleviate neighbours flooding woes.

TESCO has spent thousand of pounds clearing a tricky Ottery culvert- in the hope it will alleviate neighbours' flooding woes.

The supermarket giant said work to clear a culvert which runs under its part of the town's factory site took place on Monday.

A survey carried out by Environment Agency in January found the problematic culvert, which is believed to have been a cause in the flooding of homes in Victoria Terrace, was completely blocked with silt and debris.

A Tesco spokeswoman said: "As part of the Ottery community we want to be good neighbours, so we were extremely concerned when the engineers discovered the poor state of the culvert."

"We are delighted that, with the Environment Agency, we can make sure the drainage in the area is significantly improved. This should go some way to alleviating the flooding issues which have affected nearby properties."

The work, costing several thousands of pounds, was carried out on Monday and will allow water to run freely once more through the culverts.