A year ago, farmer Guy Hayward's fields and three of his rented homes flooded as Storm Babet struck Suffolk leaving chaos in its wake.

Nearly a year on, he is angered and dismayed as his fields were flooded once again this week - after the Environment Agency (EA) failed to carry out desilting works under a road bridge spanning the River Deben at Wickham Market.

He volunteered to desilt the area - but the agency said it was its responsibility and that he would need a special licence.

The agency has said it would carry out the work "as soon as possible" after the latest flooding incident.

(Image: Guy Hayward)

"I'm not very happy - they could have had this done in the late summer," said Mr Hayward. "Here we are again - we are back to the start."

Five agency workers arrived on Monday (September 30) to desilt the area under the bridge - but said conditions were now too wet to carry out the work and it would need to wait until next year.

Meantime, the downpours continued, the River Deben burst its banks today and - with the bridge partially blocked - flood water was diverted onto Mr Hayward's meadows which he uses for his livery business.

The farmer said he was "livid" after 70mm of rain over the last 10 days resulted in more flooding.

(Image: Guy Hayward)

"This does not bode well for this coming winter," he said. "My meadows are underwater today - already."

After the storm last year, the farmer asked the Environment Agency for advice about what works he could carry out as he was worried about being prosecuted if the agency deemed he over had overstepped the mark.

Agency officials visited and offered useful advice - but his flooding woes have continued.

"It last burst its banks in May which was particularly worrying. Then we had a relatively dry summer. The last significant rainfall was early July until this latest spell," he said.

"I'm cross about it now because part of the problem where we are is the bridge at Wickham Market under the A1078 the Environment Agency looked at it earlier in the year and realised it needs to be cleaned out so it can effectively carry water. They told me they were going to carry it out in autumn.

(Image: Guy Hayward)

"I met five people from the Environment Agency on Monday and they said we have only just been given the report to do these works and said it should be done earlier in the season. It's too late to do it now.

"They couldn't get machinery in and out of there and they said it should be done when water levels are lower."

He added: "I had offered to do under the bridge and they said you can do it but you would have to get a permit which of course costs lots and lots of money."

Mr Hayward said he was currently looking at the viability of his livery business in the light of the flooding. He didn't blame the agency workers on the ground, but felt that the right decisions weren't being taken at management level.

"The people on the ground you speak to they understand the importance of doing the work but it's those above," he said.

(Image: Guy Hayward)

"It's gradually been getting worse every year but how it used to work is we would occasionally get flooding and it would be up one day and gone the next. Now any amount of rainfall we seem to get flooding."

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “We understand that the farmers are facing a challenging situation following Storm Babet. 

"The Environment Agency has included the works on the B1078 road bridge in Wickham Market and plans are being finalised to carry out this work as soon as possible, though the timing will depend on weather conditions.”

“We are currently prioritising projects that provide the greatest flood risk reduction for people and property”.

The EA says Riparian landowners who wish to carry out work may require an environmental permit.

It can provide support through pre-application advice on how to manage watercourses in an environmentally sensitive way, improving habitats and reducing flood risk, it says.

Guy Hayward (Image: Charlotte Bond)