It may have been the driest September on record, but we still saw flooding well away from rivers, with heavy storms causing flash floods across the county.

Hertfordshire County Council is asking residents to check whether their property may be at risk of likely flooding over winter and to think now about how they can protect themselves and their property.

The most important thing is to plan ahead and not wait until your property is about to flood before taking action.

Our highways teams are working hard to ensure that road drains are clean and in good repair, but the water still has to go somewhere and heavy downpours like those we’ve seen recently can overwhelm the sewers and soakaways the drains connect to.

Even if you don’t live near a river, you could still be at risk from surface water flooding caused by heavy or prolonged rain.

To find out if your property might be at risk of flooding, search your postcode on the Environment Agency flood maps on www.gov.uk The county council does not provide residents or businesses with sandbags or other products to protect private properties from flooding.

While sandbags are relatively cheap and popular, they are not the best way of protecting your property from flooding.

There are many other products available, such as flood boards, non-return valves and air brick covers that will do a better job.

You can report flooded roads and pavements online at www.hertsdirect.org/highwayfaults There is plenty of advice and information on how people can help themselves available on the county council’s website at www.hertsdirect. org/flooding

David Barlow

Senior communications officer, Hertfordshire County Council