IT is the first line of defence against flooding misery hitting Hampshire again.

Environment Agency specialists have trialled a new piece of technology they hope will turn the tide in the fight against rising water levels if the county suffers similar rainfall this winter as last.

The training exercise saw a 20-metre steel and aluminium flood barrier deployed in Winchester on the bank of the River Itchen, which burst its banks in February and submerged parts of the city.

Last winter saw parts of Winchester, Romsey and Hambledon under water after six months’ worth of rain fell in just two months.

Army and Navy personnel were called in to build flood defences and hand out sandbags in a bid to prevent more homes being flooded as rivers burst their banks.

The estimated cost to Hampshire County Council of the floods was £68.5m.

The exercise also trialled a new mobile communications hub which will improve dialogue between emergency services deployed to fight flooding and pollution.

The Incident Command Vehicle is equipped with satellite phones, laptops, radio and secure Internet access to connect emergency response teams when extreme weather threatens communication lines. A webcam on the top of the truck will feed live video of flood sites to command centres and other emergency services, and could in future be broadcast to the public.

The truck covers the entire south of England and would only serve Winchester if it was the area in most danger.

Environment Agency manager Mike O’Neill said: “It’s good to come out and practise with this in a big space. We can try things out. It gives us more opportunities to give information back quicker so we can make quicker decisions and a more co-ordinated response.”

Winchester MP Steve Brine, who observed the exercise at North Walls Recreation Ground, said: “We did so much right in Winchester with the floods but there was a huge demand for information from the public. This communications hub will help with that.

“It’s a positive lesson learnt from what was a very difficult situation last year. Practising with this vehicle will help us do even better if the worst happens again, but I hope we don’t ever have to see it.”