SOUTHERN Water has invited residents to an exhibition on a £920,000 scheme to tackle flooding in the Orchard Valley area of Hythe.

The company is upgrading waste water sewerage systems in the area, which has been plagued by floods. The exhibition will take place on Monday April 29 between 4pm and 9pm at Hythe Town Hall, Hythe High Street.

Householders have been sent invitations and members of the company's project team will be on hand answer any queries.

Contractor Trant Construction will carry out the scheme to install new underground pipes and upgrade parts of the existing sewerage system. Work will be completed by October this year.

Southern Water Project Manager Andy Butcher said: "We regard the Orchard Valley area of Hythe as one of our most urgent flooding problems. The scheme will increase the ability of the network to cope with heavy rain, which in the past had caused flooding. Inevitably there will be some disruption during construction but we will keep local residents informed of the progress especially with works in the highway."

The Hythe project is one of a series of flood alleviation schemes that Southern Water is undertaking across the region.