Residents from Pately Bridge, North Yorkshire, have told ITV News Tyne Tees they are thankful for the £2m flood defence system, which was installed in 2005, following Storms Ciara and Dennis.
Over the past fortnight the River Nidd has risen so high it was only a couple of centimetres from overtopping the defence.
Chris Hawkesworth is a flood warden in the village.
He told ITV News during the last two weeks there have been anxious moments for the people who live at the bottom of the valley.
Sandbags Credit: ITV News
Ian Weatherhead has worked as a local butcher in the village for 71 years. Over the decades he has seen his fair share of floods.
The most prominent one in his mind was in 1998. That was seven years before the £2m flood defence was erected in the village.
River Nidd Credit: ITV News
The Environment Agency told ITV News around 25 per cent of its £2.6bn flood protection budget between 2015 and 2021 has been allocated to the North East and North Yorkshire.
They said the fact Pately Bridge has evaded flooding this year, makes that investment value for money.
Related Flood Report
Haydon Bridge in Northumberland was one of the villages flooded in 2015 by Storm Desmond.
Kris Jepson revisited some of the residents he met five years ago as they began the clean up following partial flooding from Storm Ciara.
Residents there said they would like to see similar success to the Pately Bridge flood defence in the future.
