The service, which is being offered by the Environment Agency, will help people living near the River Spen and its tributaries Blacup Beck, Lands Beck and Canker Dyke.

It is being rolled out to communities in Cleckheaton, Liversedge, Heckmondwike, Littletown and Ravensthorpe.

People living in St Peg Lane, St Peg Close, Radulf Gardens, Ings Crescent, Valley Road and Green Lane were all badly affected when the River Spen burst its banks in 2007 and again in 2008.

Last year, residents met with the Environment Agency and Kirklees Council to find out more about the service and to express their own views.

More than 1,000 homes and businesses will be able to sign up to the Floodline Warnings Direct service, and receive personalised updates that can be sent to landlines, mobile phones, pagers and faxes, or by email and text message.

Residents and businesses at risk will be contacted by letter in late February with full information on how they can sign up to the service.

It will go live in March and, after that date, whenever the Environment Agency issues flood warnings they will be sent to those who want to receive them.

Claire Fyfe, of the Environment Agency's flood incident management team, said: "Floods don't just happen to other people, as the people of Spen Valley know only too well.

"We want to encourage everyone who receives a letter about our flood warning service to register to Floodline Warnings Direct, even if they were not affected in 2007.

"This will allow them to choose how they receive flood warning messages and let them manage these details online."

Visit www.environment -agency.gov.uk or call the 24-hour Floodline service on 0845 988 188.