MP JIM Paice fears the district will be left open to further flooding following a dramatic cut to the region s flood defence budget. The south east Cambridgeshire MP said the 34 per cent cut to the flood defence funding for the central area – which inclu

MP JIM Paice fears the district will be left open to further flooding following a dramatic cut to the region's flood defence budget.

The south east Cambridgeshire MP said the 34 per cent cut to the flood defence funding for the central area - which includes East Cambs - will cause significant problems as temperatures continue to rise.

Mr Paice said: "Cutting the region's flood defence budget by a third will make communities even more vulnerable from extreme weather conditions, at a time when these are becoming all too common."

The flood defence budget allocated from national funds to the central area for 2007/08 is £19 million - £6.4 million below that for 2006/07.

Mr Paice said he has obtained information that reveals the extent of climate change at a local level.

Answers to a parliamentary written question show that Cambridgeshire's average temperature has jumped from 9.03 degrees in 1986 to 10.77 degrees in 2005.

County officials said last summer's flash-floods, which caused thousands of pounds of damage to homes and shops, were the result of extreme weather conditions.

"I am concerned that these cuts will limit the work the regional flood defence committee believe is necessary to protect local people," Mr Paice said.