Chief Minister Howard Quayle has ordered an independent review into last week’s disastrous flood in Laxey.

Mr Quayle announced the inquiry into the circumstances leading up to the flood last Tuesday, when the river burst through a wall in Glen Road, while answering urgent questions in Tynwald this morning.

He told members: ’I have instructed the chief secretary to establish an independent review into the flooding of Laxey.’

It would be led by an expert appointed from outside of government, he said

Mr Quayle praised the emergency services and volunteers who reacted to the crisis last Tuesday, which followed torrential rain he said was likely to prove to have been heaviest on record.

He also expressed sympathy for the householders whose homes have been ruined by the floods.

While Tynwald members welcomed news of the inquiry, there was anger expressed at the failure of successive administrations to address the threat of flooding, in particular a lack of action since serious flooding in Laxey in 2015.

Martyn Perkins (Garff) said the village, while badly hit both times, had ’missed two bullets’ and warned the consequences could be even more serious the next time, if action wasn’t taken.

It was also pointed out that some home-owners had invested their own money to protect against flooding from the river, only for run-off from the road and hill above to flood their properties from the opposite direction.