Prime Minister David Cameron  announced a package of more than £40m to rebuild and improve flood defences in the aftermath of Storm Eva.

He pledged the government would support charities helping those caught up in the Boxing Day deluge by matching every pound of the first £2m raised.

The cash takes investment in recovery from Storm Eva and Storm Desmond to nearly £200m.

The package is now set to be extended with grants to reimburse fire and rescue authorities that have incurred excessive costs protecting flooded communities.

The Prime Minister announced £10m of the new funding package would be reserved to improve the Foss Barrier protecting York, which was overwhelmed at the height of Storm Eva.

The other £30m will be spent repairing defences on the Wharfe, Calder, Aire, Ouse and Derwent. It will include repairs to pumping and barriers and clearing blockages in rivers.

Prime Minister David Cameron said:

“I have seen at first-hand the devastation caused by flooding. And that’s why this work to repair and improve flood defences is so vital.

We are already spending £280m over the next 6 years to protect thousands of houses from flooding in Yorkshire as part of our £2.3bn investment to protect 300,000 houses across the country.

But now more than £40m will be spent to fix those defences overwhelmed by the record rainfall we’ve seen in recent weeks and to make them more resilient to further bad weather.