As changes in weather patterns continue anyone living in the Thames basin will find themselves increasingly at risk from floods and droughts, according to a new report.

Borough residents are also being alerted to the fact that the river "will become a very different environment" with the continued onset of climate change.

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) UK’s Thames Vulnerability Assessment Report revealed that numbers of plants, fish and other animals will likely decline as a result.

Co-ordinator of the Thames Landscape Strategy, Jason Debney, said the report tied together issues that he had been discussing with colleagues for several years.

He said: "It put it together in one report. We are at risk and the Thames is going to change.

"It will become a very different environment to what we are used to.

"On a human scale it will affect people who live and work along the river."

Mr Debney views the findings as "an opportunity for this area to start putting the wonderful mosaic of habitat and environment back".

One of the key areas being targeted is the restoration of lost flood planes with Syon Park being used as an example of the work that can be done in other areas including Petersham Meadows, Kew Gardens and Ham Lands.

Mr Dedney said: "Syon is seen as the example that we have to follow in our open spaced. The river basin has been left just as it should be.

It’s allowed to floor naturally which leaves nutrients from the river on the land."

However all is perfect at Syon as Mr Debney explained that the changes in climate have lead to the emergence of alien species, a problem also highlighted in the WWF report, such as Chinese Mitten Glove crab which eat native river wildlife and can be found in abundance along the boroughs river banks.