MORE than £10 million will be spent on flood defences across the Tyne Valley, the Environment Agency has announced. The EA has already invested £10 million to improve flood defences in the five years since Storm Desmond wreaked havoc across the district. Work has already started on a £1 million scheme to strengthen flood defences on the south bank of the Tyne at Corbridge and Devils Water, protecting 37 homes. Elsewhere, work is ongoing in Acomb to extend and raise the existing defences and make improvements to the road bridge, protecting 32 homes. The Environment Agency is also working with landowners and the Tyne Rivers Trust to develop options for additional flood water storage capacity upstream of the town, which would have the added benefit of restoring habitats for local wildlife.