ISLE of Wight residents in flood risk areas will be able to benefit from a new online information service launched by the environment Agency this week.

People will be able to search by town, postcode or their nearest river to check on relevant flood warning details for their locality.

The new website, at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/floodwarning will include maps of flood warning areas, national and regional summaries, flood warning histories for an area, and supporting information such as Floodline quickdial numbers.

The new service is part of the agency's programme to improve public access to vital information. The site can withstand one million hits a day, and will be updated automatically every 15 minutes.

Southern region flood defence manager for the agency, Alison Baptiste, said: "This is an important website for all those whose lives are affected by flooding."