Winchester'S chief engineer is working to tackle the increasingly regular problem of flooding in the city centre.

David Marklew is liasing with the Environment Agency, Sout-hern Water and the county council over the repeated incidents in the lower High Street.

They are analysing the cause of the flooding which washes into several shops.

The Environment Agency and Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food have asked all local authorities to carry out surveys of critical watercourses and produce a flood defence policy.

Although Winchester was built on a marsh, the city has no history of serious flooding in recent years.

The River Itchen has stable flows, neither breaking its banks in wet weather nor running dry in summer. It is fed by underground water supplies in the chalk hills to the east of Winchester.