CALCULATIONS to assess flood defences nationwide are to change following lobbying by Worcester residents.

Floods Minister Elliott Morley announced the changes live on television on Sunday, during a programme that focussed on the Faithful City.

The Minister told the On The Record programme that flood defence formulae would take into account factors other than property values.

The number of people "at risk" would be added to the equation.

Worcester MP Mike Foster said he was delighted with the move.

He is the organiser of an all-party group of MPs concerned about flooding along the River Severn and has been working with Worcester residents.

"The Government has recently been consulting on how best to allocate cash to flood defence schemes," he said.

"Along with many, I have been a critic of the existing approach, which relies on a discredited cost-benefit test.

"This, basically, means expensive houses are more likely to get protected than cheaper housing, regardless of the number of people affected and the misery they face."

Mr Morley told interviewer John Humphrys that the MP had been instrumental in the change.

"People like Mike Foster have made a very strong case that the priorities should be people first, rather than the values of property," he said.

"I accept that argument and from next April we will be changing the criteria in the way that we do the assessments to reflect that more."

Worcester will be assessed using the current formula, however, which means it could lose out.

Worcester Action Against Floods chairwoman Mary Dhonau said she would be lobbying for another assessment if that was the case.

" I will be asking the Environment Agency if we can be reassessed under the new formula next April when it comes into practice," said Mrs Dhonau, who lives in Waverley Street.

"This is quite a significant move in the right direction."