I am sure the people of the Somerset Levels are thanking heaven that the flood threat has departed – at least for a while. Meanwhile we are treated to depressing squabbles about who is to blame. More intelligent is the growing understanding that the freak weather could have something to do with climate change.

We might have to do something about the way we live, or the cost will become much greater than any potential economic growth and thus an economic waning awaits the planet.

Firmly embedded habits might have to be jettisoned. One of these is about defence; or rather “defence” as understood by the Government. In the last few years it has spent £600 million a year on flood defences.

Compare that to at least £2 billion per annum we have collectively forked out just to preserve Trident, Britain’s nuclear engine of criminal mass destruction.

Plans to replace it with a shiny new model are estimated at around a staggering £100 billion.

Recently the prestigious Nuclear Education Trust reported that Britain’s nuclear weapons are irrelevant to any foreseeable threat. James Arbuthnot, veteran chairman of the Commons Defence Select Committee, and a former defence minister no less, echoes this.

He doubts whether replacing the Trident nuclear fleet with a new generation of missile launching submarines makes any sense.

While huge swathes of the country desperately need defending against floods, Trident defends us against nothing. Thus far the flood protection gets a few crumbs of our national financial cake, while Trident gets a very generous wedge.

I am equally sure most rational people could devise equally good alternatives for the wasted Trident billions, but there you are we have no say and we can’t even blame Brussels.

Lee Dalton, Fairview Road, Weymouth