Plans to rebuild an "abandoned" riverside home have been turned down because of flood risk.

Benjamin Livesley applied for planning permission to revamp Homeland Cottage, beside the Old Bedford River, a mile north of Welney, near Downham Market.

A planning statement said the house, which dated back to the 1880s, was in "a poor state of repair".

But  West Norfolk Council has now turned down the application.

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A planner's report said the site is located in an area "at high risk of flooding".

The council's refusal notice also stated the existing structure is considered to be abandoned, meaning the application was for a new property sited in an isolated rural location which was contrary to planning policies.

It added the proposed house would also have "a detrimental visual impact upon the surrounding countryside".