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Landowner Sir David Ralli has installed giant flood storage basins to protect a nearby village that has flooded repeatedly over recent decades.

Residents of Saham Toney, in Norfolk, will be spared from future deluges thanks to the reservoir that is capable of holding the equivalent of more than nine Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Sir David, descendent of the founder of merchant firm Ralli Brothers, told how he was approached more than five years ago to "sort the problem out" via nature-based solutions.

The 79-year-old, who hosts the first basin on his land, said: "The idea was to hold the water up because the big problem at Saham Toney was that the roads come down at two different angles and the force of the water hits the village at one specific point."

Some farmers have contributed to the flooding issue by draining their land and moving pipes underground, making catchments more vulnerable to both floods and droughts.

The scheme that Sir David is involved in includes two large storage basins, located upstream of the village and 14 leaky dams as part of a two-year scheme.

The owner of Panworth Hall Farm, who is set to help defend 30 homes, said: "This is our first winter [with the basin]. In time, it will be interesting to see [the impact]. I think it'll probably take two years to fill up. By that time we may have deer and ducks."

Steven Halls, senior flood risk officer with Norfolk County Council, described how the village has had at least four flooding events in the last five years.

He added: "We've had some extreme weather in those five years which may have exacerbated things. We've had flooding problems here since the 80s. It's an inherent problem. Our job is to find holistic and multi-functional options and schemes. So, we try to work with landowners who have the local knowledge to find these places where we can hold back the flow. We call it 'slowing the flow'. We'll never be able to stop it but we can manage and reduce the water.

"It's not just for flood risk. There's ecological benefits as well. We've got newts around the farm which we're hoping to provide habitat for in time. These aren't just big bomb craters. They have multi-functional use."

The proud grandfather told how some of his land, which is currently part of the Government's Sustainable Farming Incentive, may form part of a 4,500 acre solar park farm being developed by German energy firm RWE in around six years.

Concerns have been raised about the loss of good agricultural land to solar panels - and how that could impact food production in the UK.

But farmers struggling under Labour's uncertainty are looking to diversify to secure the future of their farms.

First generation farmer Sir David, who is an Anglo-Greek, said: "We never know what they're going to do. They don't tell us."

Pointing to a hedge he planted more than five decades ago, the father or two added: "It's for the next generation too."

Just this week heavy rain brought on by Storm Chandra caused flooding in some parts of the East of England.

Mid Norfolk MP George Freeman this week presented a Ten-Minute Rule Bill in the House of Commons.

He said: "Flooding is no longer a rare event - it is becoming an annual trauma for thousands of homes across the UK, with serious consequences for homeowners ability to insure, mortgage and sell their homes.

"This week's storm again highlights the problem with torrential downpours leading to significant surface water run-off, overwhelming drainage systems.

"Yet developers continue to build on floodplains, and flooded homeowners find nobody ultimately responsible.

"In Norfolk we have over 30 bodies with responsibility for flooding but each year it gets worse. This cannot go on.

"My Bill is about giving power and funding back to the Internal Drainage Boards and local councils with powers to enforce developers and water companies to properly upgrade drainage when big new housing estates are built.

"Local authorities and internal drainage boards need clear responsibility, proper funding and the tools to protect homes before floods happen - not just mop up afterwards."

His legislation proposes to cut through a "fragmented" system involving up to 36 separate bodies during a single flood incident.