COUNCILLORS are calling on the Government to provide cash to help protect Wirral from flooding.

Last September the peninsula was hit by flash-flooding when torrential rain fell over a short period of time causing rivers and brooks to burst their banks and drainage systems to overflow.

Parts of Moreton, Upton and Greasby were particularly badly hit with 83 properties affected.

An independent report into the incident was published in May and said the authorities were too slow in sharing information and late in reacting to rising water levels.

It also highlighted "misconceptions about roles and responsibilities of the different agencies impacted on the effectiveness of the flood incident response."

The review drawn up by consultants Aecom and commissioned by the council concluded: "Information about the scale and severity of the flooding was slow to surface and reach key decision makers."

The investigation made a series of recommendations for improvements.

Councillor Bernie Mooney, cabinet member for environment, said: "We know we will be much better prepared in future to handle freak weather conditions like we saw earlier this year.

"We have now got to take real action and make sure we do everything we can to keep Wirral residents safe.

"We are today calling on the Government to allocate some of its £700m flood defence funding to Wirral.

"£115m has already been allocated to Leeds, and £33m to Cumbria .

"We believe Wirral deserves its fair share to enable us to improve our flood defences and keep our residents and communities protected from the devastating impact of floods."

The Environment Agency recommends households check flood risk maps, register for free flood warnings and get help in producing a personal flood plan by visiting www.gov.uk/floodsdestroy.

Councillor Mooney added: "The council and all other agencies involved have already started making great progress in improving our response systems.

"I can assure residents with absolute confidence that should we face similar circumstances in the future our response will be much better co-ordinated and effective."