VILLAGERS were celebrating today after the Government gave the go-ahead for flood defences at Stamford Bridge - just in time.

Floods Minister Elliot Morley told the Evening Press he had agreed to help fund the project to protect riverside properties, and work would start next month.

That means the defences should be watertight in time for the next winter flooding season - preventing the River Derwent from once again bursting its banks.

The news comes after the Evening Press alerted East Yorkshire MP Greg Knight to potential delays in funding the project, and he raised the matter at an urgent meeting with Mr Morley.

The paper has been campaigning for defences at Stamford Bridge since just before the disastrous floods of November 2000.

Mr Morley, said the project had been a "bit delayed because of the borderline nature of one floodbank".

He said: "We had to look very carefully at it because one of the banks was really on the edge of whether it would qualify or not (for defences).

"When you're spending large amounts of money you need to be sure the scheme is justified and it matches the criteria."

Now it's all systems go to get the work done, said Environment Agency area manager Craig McGarvey.

"We are really pleased - Defra's office have done a fantastic job of turning things around very quickly."

Parish council chairwoman Hilary Saynor said: "It's fantastic news. There will be great relief all round."

Martin Long, a partner at Homecare, a village store that was flooded in both 1999 and 2000, said: "I am extremely pleased."

Mr Morley was speaking yesterday after visiting new £7.5m defences which protected Malton, Norton and Old Malton last winter, just days after becoming watertight.

He said: "It's always nice to come and see completed flood defence schemes rather than visiting people who have been affected by flood events.

"The average time for a major engineering scheme is five years start to finish and this has been done in two-and-a-half.

"It has already been challenged and it has already worked."

However, residents' joy was tempered by continuing fears about an associated pumping station, run by the district council at nearby Mill Beck.

Resident Howard Keal, chairman of Derwent Action Group, said the station was designed to provide a level of protection five times lower than the main defences.

"Floods don't respect office hours - we need to know for an absolute certainty that there will be pumps available when necessary 24 hours a day without fail so people can sleep easier in their beds."

But Norton district councillor Elizabeth Shields, chairman of the community services and licensing committee, reassured residents, saying: "If we are talking about something in the nature of the 2000 flood, then it might be necessary to bring in extra pumps.

"If it appears there's going to be another inundation the Environment Agency, who monitor the rising levels, will contact Ryedale House where there are emergency people available 24-hours-a-day.

"The back-up is there."

Updated: 11:14 Tuesday, April 01, 2003