AS a community of people, Herefordshire can pride itself today on the way it came together to cope with the devastating floods that swept over us.

Pride of place goes to the emergency services who put themselves at risk and have worked so tirelessly in awful conditions to help others.

But there are also many many heart-warming instances of ordinary people who pull together in these extreme conditions, who help their neighbours, who chip in with whatever they can offer to help make sure we cope as best we can.

In that spirit, we hope everyone will consider donating whatever they can spare to our fund set up to help those worst hit by the floods: www.herefordshirecf.org.

For most of us, the recent storms have been a distrubing experience to endure but, in the end, it is disruption rather than disaster.

But for some who have seen their homes flooded with foul water, who face months in temporary accommodation, this has been a heart-wrenching event.

What lessons can be learned? That still more needs to be done about flood defences? To a point.

But there comes a stage when even the highest defences are breached when unprecedented weather events lash us.

Climate change has led to more and more extreme weather and left us exposed. A safer and more secure future lies in the urgent need to tackle that issue.