She said an unprecedented amount of evidence combined with "decades of experience" had resulted in their "completion of the task".

"Flooding is never an easy subject to deal with," he said."Having that awareness of risk, knowing what you can do to help yourself, knowing who you can go to for extra help if you need it is absolutely key.

"It’s all about preparedness, knowing what you can do and where you can go for the help you need."The council said it would have more staff on standby over the winter than in previous years in case the worst happens.Councillor Stuart Gourley said: "We've been working hard over the summer to keep rivers and streams free of obstacles.

“We are always out and about on our highways cleaning our drains and our gullies."We’ve cleaned over 16,000 so far this year and will continue to as we head into winter."

A council has announced new plans to replace an axed low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) scheme in a city suburb.

The proposals for Heaton, in Newcastle, include a number of one-way routes, widening pavements and residents-only parking permits.for jokes on American late night television. But its mission is no laughing matter.

“Safeguarding the president-elect is a top priority,” said Anthony Guglielmi, US Secret Service chief of communications, in a statement to the BBC.In the months leading up to the US presidential election, Trump was the target of two apparent assassination attempts. The first took place at a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania and the other occurred at the Mar-a-Lago golf course in September.

Citing “concern for operational security,” the Secret Service declined to answer the BBC’s specific questions about the use of robotic dogs in Trump’s security detail, including when the agency began deploying the device at his primary residence.Boston Dynamics also declined to answer specific questions, although it confirmed the Secret Service was deploying its Spot robot.