Could English village's approach offer a low-cost solution to Ireland's flooding woes?

Hidden in the midst of farmland, hedgerows and narrow winding country roads, Gissing dates back to the Dark Ages, but could become a by-word in the lexicon of natural flood defences all over the world, writes Neil Michael

Some of the diversion works used to reduce the flow of the river that would normally flood the Norfolk village of Gissing. Picture: Norfolk Rivers Trust

Were it not for a Channel 4 TV documentary and Mr Bean actor Rowan Atkinson, it is hard to see how anybody in Ireland could have heard about Gissing.

Nestling deep in the Norfolk countryside, the village is a world away from the nearby town of Norwich and its association with the comic character Alan Partridge, popularized by comedian Steve Coogan.