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Work to construct a new flood alleviation scheme in Hereford will get underway this week.

Herefordshire Council claims the £4m Yazor Brook scheme will save millions of pounds of damage to properties.

A spokesman said the work was "essential" to minimise the risk of flooding to homes around Millbrook Street, Nolan Road and Edgar Street.

The project, funded by Advantage West Midlands, is expected to take around a year to complete.

The council spokesman said agricultural land and scattered properties up stream of the flood alleviation scheme will also benefit.

He added many areas currently used to annual flooding will see their risk of flooding "substantially" reduced.

The new buried culvert will come into action when levels of water in the swollen Yazor Brook reach a trigger level.

It will divert the extra water along the mile-long culvert, which will follow the natural contours of the landscape, and expel it into the River Wye, south east of Old Weir Farm.

Once complete it will blend into the landscape, the council says.

The project will go ahead after an inquiry found it was in the public interest and "fundamental to the viability of Hereford city centre".

Herefordshire Council sought the compulsory purchase of land at Credenhill after negotiations with some landowners were inconclusive.

Councillor Roger Phillips, the leader of Herefordshire Council, said: "The council has worked hard to ensure that the city is as well protected as possible from the miseries that flooding can bring to homes and businesses."