YEARS of campaigning has paid off for this victim of the 2000 floods, after the third phase of the Selby defence scheme was opened.

Ros Amor's home in Maple Tree Avenue, in Barlby, was one of more than 150 properties besieged by floodwaters seven years ago.

Ros and her husband, John, have campaigned tirelessly since then to raise awareness and secure a flood alleviation scheme for Selby.

She said: "This winter will be the first for six years that I'll be able to sleep at night when it's raining.

"At last we can be confident that we have the flood defence we need to protect our homes. I'm now looking forward to when the full scheme is finished."

Ros's home and personal belongings were damaged in the November 2000 floods, and it was five months before the family could return to the property.

She was at the official opening of the defences opposite BOCM Pauls in Barlby Road yesterday.

Ian Cooke, of the Environment Agency, who was also at the event, said the 2.2-mile flood defence wall, which protects about 1,000 houses in Barlby, was finished earlier this month.

He said the flood wall was built on the existing earth embankment and was clad in 300,000 bricks.

He said: "We started the Barlby phase in September 2005 and finished this month.

"It's a key part of the overall scheme and we're pleased that Barlby residents are now safe in the knowledge that their properties are protected from flooding."

Construction works on phase four of the defence scheme started in February last year and will be completed by spring next year.

They include just about a mile of flood walls from the former toll-bridge to Bank House Farm, with an amphitheatre in the Memorial Gardens decorated with artwork produced by GCSE students from Selby College. The fifth and final phase, from the former toll-bridge to Selby lock and the railway bridge, will start in the summer.

Mr Cooke said it was expected to take about a year to finish.Once complete, the flood alleviation scheme will protect a total of 1,555 homes in Selby and Barlby.