A railway line is due to close on Sunday (September 29) for seven weeks to enable engineers to build a £3.4m flood defence scheme.

Trains on the Lymington to Brockenhurst line will be replaced by buses while the Environment Agency constructs a barrier that aims to prevent any repetition of the disastrous floods seen in 1999.

Rail passengers who also use the Lymington to Yarmouth ferries are being warned to allow extra for their journeys.

Chris Haresign, area manager for South West Trains, said: "The buses will take slightly longer than the train trip but my teams in the area are ready for the closure and will be on hand to help passengers.

"There's no ideal time to shut the line but the work being done will bring lasting benefit."

The Environment Agency is building an 860-metre long floodwall between the railway and the Lymington River to protect 142 properties in the town.

Pile-drivers will operate from wagons on the line, which means train services must be suspended until the scheme is completed on November 18.

Tim Kermode, the agency's flood risk manager for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, said: "We will do everything we can to keep noise to a minimum but we realise that the work may cause disturbance.

"We hope the local community will bear with us while we undertake this essential work to help prevent flooding in the town.

"We will work double shifts to ensure we complete the work in the seven-week period in which the railway is closed."

During the closure a half-hourly bus service will link Brockenhurst railway station with those at Lymington Town and Lymington Pier.

On Monday-Saturday the buses will leave Lymington Pier at ten and 40 minutes past the hour, arriving at Brockenhurst at 26 and 56 minutes past the hour.

Buses going in the opposite direction will leave Brockenhurst at 18 and 48 minutes past the hour, arriving at Lymington Pier at four and 34 minutes past the hour.