THE first part of the massive dredging operation on the rivers Parrett and Tone began today (March 31) as dredging equipment arrived in Burrowbridge.

At 8.30am, a 22-tonne excavator and a dumper truck arrived at Millwood Farm to start dredging a 200-metre stretch of the river.

The Environment Agency has said it will begin dreding the Parrett between Burrowbridge and Andersea, and the Tone between Burrowbridge and Curload.

A spokesperson from the Environment Agency said: "In the next five to six weeks they will be working on dredging where the silt accumulation is at its worst.

"There is no set time frame yet for how long the entire dredging operation will take. We will go for as long as it takes."