The UK Government is to release information on flood risks that was previously available to insurers only.

Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude announced the move in response to severe flooding at the start of this year.

He said during the flooding 200 software developers were given access to a range of information, including 15-minute readings from every river level sensor in the country.

The developers came up with a number of solutions, including a phone service that connects people with energy suppliers in power cuts and an app that alerts Twitter users to local volunteering opportunities.

The information will now be released as open data.

“Since those floods, there has been a strong demand for flood risk assessment data to be released to help local communities better protect themselves,” Mr Maude said.

“When it comes to something like flooding, this country’s national information infrastructure can be important, as well as its physical infrastructure.”