VITAL flood defence funding has been withdrawn from Inverclyde Council, only weeks after severe rain turned the area into an 'island'.

As part of Scottish Government cuts to local authority budgets, cash which is usually assigned for each council to help improve flood defences has been axed.

Instead, the money, which is also given to other Scottish councils, will be put into a pot and areas which are worst affected by flooding will have to apply for a larger slice of cash.

The funding cut was part of the Scottish Government's local budget settlement.

Council leader, Councillor Stephen McCabe, said: "The council gets a capital grant each year from the government and overall that grant is being cut.

"There was some money set aside for flood prevention works and from that we get a notional share of �175,000.

"But the government has top-sliced the allocation to local government.

"The thinking is that a smaller slice of the cash helps no-one, but a separate fund means those in the greatest need will get access to that funding first.

"As a result of that, it will be areas which have a history of bad flooding where money will be allocated - those councils which have greater flooding problems than others." But in the wake of a recent campaign for more to be done to help Inverclyde's flooding problems, Mr McCabe said: "In Inverclyde the local MSP Stuart McMillan has been banging on about addressing the flooding issues locally and wanting to call a summit - then the government removes this money.

"It doesn't send out the right signals when the government is cutting, yet the local SNP councillors and MSP are banging on about more help to tackle flooding in the area." Inverclyde depute provost, Councillor David Wilson, added: "In the settlement that was issued last week, the �175,000 for three years has been removed.

"We are not pleased at all, especially when Stuart McMillan was quoted as saying he is going to lobby for more help from the government." Mr McMillan hit back and said the council has not made any attempts to try to access flood prevention money.

He said the issue had been discussed with council body, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.

The MSP said: "This was something that was very much discussed so that money can be put aside to help with larger flood prevention schemes.

"The last time I met with environment minister Stewart Stevenson, just the other week, he said that Inverclyde Council had not yet put in a bid to try and access any of this money from the government.

"I find it strange that, in the week the council announced a �4 million surplus in their budget, they say there is a funding shortfall."