A SIREN demonstration marked the end of flood defence repair works on Portland with the Environment Agency claiming: We’re ready.

The Environment Agency has been repairing damage on Chesil Beach since Christmas. The damage was caused by a succession of winter storms.

The sea wall, Gabion Castle, and gabion crest protection mattresses have been repaired, as well as the Monsoon Drain.

The Agency has also carried out a significant re-profiling of the beach. People were invited to see the repairs and witness a siren demonstration earlier today.

Neil Watson, a coastal engineer at the Agency, said: “We have been on site in some form or another since Christmas, so this is the end of a very significant activity, having committed in the order of a million pounds.

“The key elements are obviously the sea wall protection, the gabion castle, and the crest protection that’s been repaired and we are working on the monsoon drain.

“The final stage was to reshape the foundation of the beach. We are pretty much back where we started to face another winter.”

A siren test was held at 11am with further demonstrations planned at 2pm and 5pm.

Mr Watson added: “It’s a way of showing the community that we are finished and we have been successful but it’s also to remind them of the need for preparation and vigilance in the future.

“We are ready to go through the winter storms.”

Mr Watson said the Environment Agency had been greatly assisted by the community.

He said: “We had a number of people who we engaged with, very knowledgeable people in the community who have been involved in the original scheme and the phases as engineers and community representatives.”

Stuart Morris, historian and Portland resident, said the work to restore and repair the gabions was vital but he disagreed with the re-profiling of the beach.

He said: “They said the pebbles were lost to the storm but they were just redistributed. It has happened in the past. It’s a natural process and will reshape the beach.

“The consequences are really unknown and as the pebbles are likely to be removed again at some point it could be a waste of money.”

Jackie Breakspear, of The Cove House Inn, said she was pleased the repair work had finished.

She said: “It’s taken them a long time and we have had a very noisy summer.

“I think we are going to be prepared if we do have another storm.

“From our point of view we don’t want another storm like it again.”