FLOOD campaigners in Flimby fear the sale of a local field could lead to more problems in the village.

The field, known locally as ‘the swamp’, next to the Farmer’s Way development, is set to go to under the hammer next week.

And Flimby Flood Action Group chair Joy Chivers is worried that any future development on the site could lead to more flooding.

She said: “I suggest whoever wants to buy it should see it. Nobody would get planning for it because of the consequences of it being a flood plain.”

Mrs Chivers said building of the Farmers Way development on part of the same land exacerbated flooding.

She added: “Half the land was built on in 2006, when that field was sold. The site was built on raised foundations. That means the other half of the field is even worse.”

It is not known who currently owns the land, however the auction house said it would be suitable for potential developments.

The county council’s department responsible for flooding and development management has confirmed that the land is a flood zone level two, ranking it as a medium flood risk.

This means the land is assessed as having between a 1 in 100 and 1 in 1,000 annual probability of river flooding.

The land is also known in the village as ‘Flimby pond’ due to the amount of water that collects there. Auctioneers Allsop LLP have the plot of marsh land, guided at £35,000, on their books for a sale at Great Cumberland Place in London on Thursday.

Properties in Flimby flooded in 2015 during Storm Desmond and this week a government grant was announced for the area to provide flood defences.