THE cost of dealing with the widespread flooding in Hampshire this year could come to £68.5million.

That’s the projection from Hampshire County Council, which hopes to claim up to £4.5million from the Government for the cost of the emergency response.

It has already received £11.5million from the Government to help repair the county’s damaged roads.

Council leader Cllr Roy Perry said: “Getting £11.5million is a really helpful first step from Government and we’ll be bidding for more resources, bearing in mind we estimate that another £25million, or more, is needed to fix damaged roads alone.

“We are committed to continuing to fund an enhanced maintenance programme to improve the resilience of our 5,000 miles of roads, which, together with resources we are planning to spend in the recent budget, is testimony to the importance we attach to investing in Hampshire.”

A report on flooding in the county has been prepared for the county council’s cabinet meeting on April 14.

The report lists Basingstoke as one of the worst-hit areas, for the groundwater flooding mixed with sewage that seeped in people’s homes in the Blackdown Close area of Buckskin.

Cllr Perry added that the county council is planning an event after Easter to thank the many volunteers who helped in the battle against the floodwater.