The Environment Agency (EA) is conducting its annual test of its flood sirens in Grimsby and Cleethorpes on Friday, 24 August.

Installed after the summer floods of 2007, 17 of the 18 sirens help the EA warn over 25,000 households and local businesses of imminent tidal flooding while one also warns of flood risk from the river.

Testing will take place on Friday, 24 August between 10am and 12pm. If you hear the sirens during this time, you do not need to take any action. If flooding is expected on the day, the test will be rescheduled and flood warnings will be issued through the Environment Agency’s free Flood Warning Service (FWS).

Environment Agency staff will be at Freshney Place shopping centre in Grimsby together with representatives from North East Lincolnshire Council between 9am and 5pm on the day of the tests. They’ll be on hand to answer questions about the sirens and provide information about how to manage your flood risk, including what steps you can take to prepare for an emergency.

The sirens in Grimsby and Cleethorpes were installed over a decade ago, and since then the Environment Agency has made great strides in how it can warn people when flooding may be possible. The EA now offers a free Flood Warning Service, which provides targeted flood warnings via phone call, text or email. The EA encourages all residents in Grimsby and Cleethorpes to check their flood risk and sign up for flood warnings if they’ve not done so yet, by visiting www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings or by calling 0345 988 1188.

Although the Flood Warning Service is now the EA’s primary warning tool, the flood sirens in Grimsby and Cleethorpes add value as they can help provide people with crucial time to prepare for flooding. The siren on the Willows Estate in Grimsby is used to warn residents about flooding from the New Cut Drain and the River Freshney, while the others warn of flooding from the Humber.

Greg Smith, Flood Resilience team leader with the Environment Agency, said:

The flood sirens we own and operate in Grimsby and Cleethorpes help us warn over 25,000 households and local businesses. It’s important that we conduct these annual tests to make sure the sirens still work as they should.

Although our flood defences reduce the risk of flooding to thousands of homes and businesses in Grimsby and Cleethorpes, we can never remove the risk of flooding entirely. This is why it is crucial that we can warn people when there is a risk of flooding, by using tools such as the sirens or our free Flood Warning Service.

It is important that everyone plays their part to protect themselves from the risk of flooding. Find out what you can do to protect yourself and your family by coming to talk to us at Freshney Place on 24 August.

Cllr Matt Patrick, portfolio holder for the environment with North East Lincolnshire Council said:

On the flood siren testing day, North East Lincolnshire Council staff and its partner Engie will be joining the Environment Agency in Freshney Place Shopping Centre between 9am and 5pm.

Officers will be available to answer any questions on flood risk and how you can prepare.

Registered Bodies are being urged to partner with the charity SAFERjobs to help protect people from potential recruitment scams.

Working with the DBS, SAFERjobs is asking organisations to join its scheme that aims to tackle the rise in fake background screening checks defrauding job seekers.

Keith Rosser, Chair of SAFERjobs explained:

A common method that fraudsters are using to target job seekers involves fake job offers online signposting applicants to websites claiming to offer fast, online DBS checks for a fee payable immediately by the job seeker. I would therefore encourage Registered Bodies to sign up to our prevention scheme. It is free to join and involves you displaying our logo on your website and application forms to raise awareness amongst job seekers. In return SAFERjobs will advertise your business on its site to the 40,000 job seekers and employers visiting our website every month. By working together we can take a strong stance against fraud and help reduce the incidence of this distressing crime. By working together we really can make a difference.

SAFERjobs was created by the Metropolitan Police to tackle a range of labour market abuses and is now a registered charity with cross-government support offering free services to job seekers.

The SAFERjobs logo is currently used by companies as a sign of authenticity to workers that the process is safe and legitimate, and that workers have a place to get free advice should they have any concerns.

Director of Safeguarding at the DBS, Sue Smith, said:

This sort of scam can be really distressing to those involved and we are keen to do all we can to prevent it. We have been working closely with SAFERjobs to raise awareness of this issue and would urge Registered Bodies to do the same.

To get involved with the scheme, visit the SAFERjobs site here and contact them online: SAFERjobs

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Under the agreement, the government will provide funding for the remainder of the building work at Midland Metropolitan Hospital. The new hospital will be built by 2022.

When completed, Midland Metropolitan will be the first new hospital in England’s second largest urban area since 2010. The new hospital will have:

• state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment
• 15 operating theatres
• at least 669 beds

It will be an acute centre for the care of adults and children, as well as offering maternity care and specialised surgery to approximately 750,000 residents.

Construction work had begun on Midland Metropolitan Hospital, part of Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, under a private finance programme. Work was halted when the firm carrying out the work, Carillion, went into liquidation earlier this year. Since then, the trust and the government have worked closely together to reach a resolution.

Health Minister Stephen Barclay said:

Our long-term plan for the NHS will see it receive £20.5 billion a year more than it currently does by 2023, but our commitment does not stop there, as this important partnership shows.

We are not only giving patients in Sandwell and west Birmingham world-class NHS facilities on their doorstep, but also showing our determination to build an NHS fit for the future – all whilst making sure taxpayers’ money is spent in the best possible way.

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust Chief Executive, Toby Lewis, said:

This is absolutely fantastic news. After a huge amount of work by teams across Whitehall and the Trust, and with the voices of local residents, clinicians, and stakeholders having been clearly heard, we are delighted that we now have a definitive, publicly financed plan. We will continue to engage with the construction market over coming weeks and build towards a formal procurement by November this year. We always said Midland Met would be delivered and the doubters were wrong. The Prime Minister’s promise is being honoured.

Midland Met will open in 2022, and by then our partnerships with local GPs, schools and care homes will be even deeper and more integrated than today. This is a vote of confidence in our publicly financed construction plan, and in our Sustainability and Transformation Plan as a whole. The new hospital is about improving the outcomes of patient care and about regeneration and public health. We need to finish the job and seize the benefits.