A Norfolk MP is set to raise in Parliament next week the issue of flooding in a Fenland village.South West Norfolk MP Christopher Fraser will call on the government to take steps to address the problems of flooding at Welney, which has caused havoc for villagers this winter.

A Norfolk MP is set to raise in Parliament next week the issue of flooding in a Fenland village.

South West Norfolk MP Christopher Fraser will call on the government to take steps to address the problems of flooding at Welney, which has caused havoc for villagers this winter.

Mr Fraser has secured a House of Commons debate on the issue on Monday and plans to take up his concerns with Defra and ask that steps be taken immediately.

As reported in the EDP, water on the Ouse Washes floodplain has risen to cover the A1101, which connects the village with the rest of Norfolk, leaving it impassable for most vehicles.

Some parents have been left with a 40-mile round trip just to take their children to school, while the floods are affecting trade at Welney's last remaining pub and shop.

Mr Fraser has already met members of the parish council and he pledged to do all he could to help the villagers.

Last night, he said: "For more than two months, the A1101 has been under 2-3ft of water.

"The waters may recede for a few days, but every time we have constant steady rain, as in the last few days, they return.

"Constituents whose homes, businesses and daily routes have been affected are desperate for a solution."

He added: "It is time that the government and Environment Agency realised that they cannot ignore the problems of the Norfolk fens.

"Ministers must now support the local councils, whose financial support has already been cut to the bone, and step in with a rescue plan.

"This is a national problem, not a local one, but yet again Norfolk finds itself at the wrong end of the government's priority list."

While the Environment Agency plans to repair sluices on the River Ouse at Denver a few miles downstream, the parish council believes raising the road is the only answer.

The council has written to a number of departments and organisations calling for help and is also trying to get a coalition of villages together to raise the issue, as it is not just Welney which has been affected.