PEOPLE and properties will not be the only beneficiaries of work to alleviate the risk of flooding in Horncastle.

An otter pass is also being installed during work to remove a build-up of silt from River Bain under Jubilee Bridge, on the A158 Jubilee Way, which will allow the creatures to walk safely under the road.

The otter pass will be created from special planks and bolted to the bridge above the level of the water once the silt has been removed from the river.

Phil Smith, from the Environment Agency's fisheries, recreation and biodiversity team, said: "As they travel along a water course, otters are sometimes reluctant to go under road bridges, particularly at times of high flows and high water levels.

"The silt that is being removed currently projects above the level of the water for most of the time and they have been using this.

"Once the silt is taken away, the otters will be left with two choices; use the river or the road.

"Each year in Lincolnshire five or six otters are found as 'road kill' victims adjacent to bridges.

"The new otter pass is designed to stop them choosing the road and running the risk of getting hit by passing traffic."

Work to remove the silt and install the otter pass started on August 20 and is expected to take around one week to complete.

Almost 40 tonnes of silt is being dug from the under the bridge by due to limited access for machinery.

Nigel Stanton, operations delivery team leader, said: "We need to remove the silt to increase the water-carrying capacity of the river under the bridge.

"This will allow water to flow under the bridge in the event of a flood.

"The silt removal is the final part of a project which took place on the River Bain earlier this summer when material was removed from the river downstream of the bridge and bank slips were repaired near to Banovallum Gardens.

"Silt could not be removed from under the bridge at the same time because the water levels in the river were too high and we had to wait until they had dropped."

The works to remove the silt and install the otter pass are being carried out on behalf of the Environment Agency by P&R Construction.