NINE days after the Silver Command control centre in York was disbanded, the floods are still claiming victims. The threat to people's property has gone, but the threat to people's peace of mind is ongoing.

Conmen are on the prowl looking to profit from the flooding misery. Looters took advantage at the height of the crisis. Now the waters have receded, warnings have been sounded about cowboy builders seeking to make a quick killing from desperate home owners. North Yorkshire trading standards officers have drawn up an approved list of builders to help counter this peril.

Today we learn of a new danger. A black market in flood-damaged household appliances poses a serious health risk, police say.

This development was almost inevitable. Across the county, fridges, freezers, washing machines and TVs are being piled up in roadside skips as the mopping up process continues.

Thieves cannot believe their luck. They are taking the appliances, giving them a perfunctory clean-up, and selling them on to hard-up householders for what seems a compelling discount.

But these are not bargains, they are potential death traps. Electricity and water do not mix: the consequences of reusing these items do not bear thinking about.

A further threat comes from contamination. Fridges recently awash with filthy floodwater are being sold on "as new".

Families on low incomes could be sorely tempted by such bargains. But they must remember the advice of our Too Hot To Handle campaign: any deal that seems too good to be true is exactly that.

Anyone in dire straits because of the floods should turn to the official appeal for help. Sir Jimmy Savile today handed over his donation and that adds to a dozen cheques that have arrived in a matter of days.

The fund's trustees will be looking to help those in the greatest hardship as soon as they possibly can.