A reporter who wanted to get the low-down on flooding in a village had to borrow a boat to get to an exhibition on the problem.

Faced with having to take a 15-mile diversion, Cambs Times reporter Tom Jackson fathomed what he thought was the solution – and took to the water instead.

He showed his hidden depths by borrowing a boat to try to make his way across a road which has been flooded for more than two months.

And news editor John Elworthy said his efforts deserved to make the splash, adding: “Where else could it go?”

Going overboard to get the story

Flooding has left the village of Welney inaccessible on one side and drivers are unable to make their way along the A1101 between Wisbech and Littleport, forcing them to take a diversion via Downham Market or Ely – adding up to 30 miles on journeys.

When the Environment Agency took its flooding roadshow to the Welney Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre, to reveal that the Fens was facing an even greater risk of flooding over the next 50 to 100 years, villagers were left disappointed that they could not make their way through the water to get to the exhibition.

But the Cambs Times was not to be stopped – and hired a boat from family business Giles Landscapes, based in Welney, which then helped Tom, complete with waterproofs and fluorescent jackets (just in case he fell in), in his bid to make it to the exhibition.

Tom said: “Unfortunately, the current was too strong and kept pushing me back to where we had come from so I returned to the March office and told the story of our failed attempt to battle through the Washes.”

But luckily back at base Tom’s colleagues had picked up the telephone – and compiled a 500 word story on the flooding exhibition from the warmth and comfort of the newsroom.

The Archant Herts and Cambs newspaper was recently voted Newspaper Society free weekly paper of the year for the East and West Midlands and Eastern Region, and John said: “I know we preach the need to go the extra mile, this was probably taking the office motto a bit too far!”