Flood defence for Barlby

Work will start in the first week of January driving corrugated steel sheets into the earth enbankments along a three-mile stretch of the River Ouse from Selby Toll Bridge to the northern side of Barlby village.

Flood defence levels will be raised by half a metre, and banks strengthened by covering thousands of sandbags with water-proof membranes before strapping them down.

New brick ramparts will also be built on top of existing concrete walls in what the agency described as a "Herculean effort" to give residents peace of mind this winter.

The agency's area manager, Craig McGarvey, said the emergency work was only the prelude to a permanent scheme for Barlby and Selby costing more than £1 million.

The longer-term improvements would include increasing the height of floodbanks even further, and securing the interior of the water-logged clay banks.

Mr McGarvey told the Evening Press that the emergency work starting next month was a mammoth task and a difficult operation.

He said: "More than 200,000 sandbags were laid along this stretch during the floods crisis, but we want to make sure we aren't just relying on sandbags.

"They will be strong and robust repairs, which will give residents more confidence this winter and could last several years.

"But they are only temporary and not to the standard we want - that's why we have to look at more costly permanent work."

Mr McGarvey said the cost of flood defence improvements throughout Yorkshire - expected to top £100 million over the next ten years - would put the agency's flood defence committee in deficit by the financial year end.

He added: "We will be asking local authorities next month to make a bigger contribution to this work to help us balance the books."

Rosalind Amor, spokeswoman for the action group set up by Barlby's flood victims, said news of the emergency repairs would "lift spirits slightly", but work needed to start on a permanent scheme as soon as possible.