A LARGE reservoir is set to be drained to prevent it bursting its banks and flooding 800 homes.

The Environment Agency will this week begin the partial draining of Hameldon Reservoir on Great Hameldon Hill overlooking Accrington, which is thought to contain 25,000 cubic metres of water – the equivalent of nine Olympic swimming pools.

Pumps will be used to syphon the water into a nearby tributary to the River Hyndburn.

Fears about the former textile mill reservoir causing flooding were first raised in 2003 by a county councillor who said the water could surge down the moor flooding anything in its path.

It is thought the water would drain down two channels to Broad Oak and to the Plantation Street area .

The Environment Agency’s bid to protect Accrington homes was praised by Hyndburn Borough Council leader Peter Britcliffe.

He said: “I would welcome this action as is it is essential we become more and more vigilant to these dangers.

“Preventing flooding is beco-ming more of a priority because we have seen how recent torr-ential rains caused problems.”

In reaction to safety concerns, the Environment Agency has been working in partnership with the Lancashire Resilience Forum to draw up a safe plan of works.

Drained water will be fed back into the main river system and the first part of the works will take approximately two weeks.

The water level will be reduced at a controlled rate to avoid further damage to the reservoir and overwhelming the watercourses downstream.

Allocating responsibility for the maintanance of the reservoir has long been debated as ownership of it is unknown.

Rob Ide, from the Environment Agency, said it had stepped in and assumed the responsibility as staff had identified safety issues should the water build up.

Weekly monitoring visits have been carried out during the past few months and has led them to conclude that a number of properties in the area could be at risk should water build up.

He added: “The decision to drain the reservoir has been made in consultation with the local community, and we will be ensuring that the work is closely monitored.”