Flood defence improvements for Ryedale are to be hastened after the Evening Press prompted the intervention of a "livid" Prime Minister.

Ryedale may be one of the first communities to benefit from the extra £51 million promised for flood defences by the Government.

The news came as some householders across the York area were set to be hit by further flooding for a second time this afternoon as the Ouse continued to rise.

But people living in districts narrowly saved from inundation last Friday night - such as the terraced streets around Leeman Road -were hoping defences would hold for a second time following Environment Agency predictions that the river would probably peak slightly lower this time round.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott was said today to be particularly keen for flood defences to be built in Malton and Norton sooner than originally planned after the Evening Press presented Tony Blair with its Save Ryedale From Flooding campaign dossier last week.

Ryedale MP John Greenway said Mr Prescott had told him during a private meeting in Norton last Friday that the Prime Minister had been "livid" after receiving the dossier. "Apparently the Prime Minister was not very happy about it being handed to him because it was completely unexpected.

"But I believe that as a result of the Evening Press' actions the Prime Minister virtually ordered Prescott to come to Norton to find out what was happening."

Agriculture Minister Elliot Morley said in the Commons that said there were technical issues which needed to be addressed in the Malton scheme. But he added: "The scheme will be introduced as quickly as possible. The frequency of flooding that Malton has experienced will have an effect on the way that we score the schemes and on the priority that we give to them."

Vale of York Tory MP Anne McIntosh claimed that parts of her constituency had been sacrificed as all attention was focused on protecting the downtown City of York.

She claimed no sandbags were provided by the council until 4pm on Saturday even though they were requested at 11pm on Friday.

Mr Morley defended the local authority's action, saying: "Sandbags were needed in the city to stop the water getting under the flood defences and destroying them. Their distribution was an issue of priority."

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott then outraged Miss McIntosh by calling her a "twit".

She had complained that he had failed to tell her he was coming to her constituency to see the floods, as he should have done by parliamentary convention. But he responded: "I met you, you twit."

Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrat MP Phil Willis said some residents in Knaresborough only received a flood warning when there was already four feet of water in their homes. Mr Morley accepted the flood alert system needed to be improved to satisfactorily cover areas not at high risk.

An Environment Agency spokesman said the entire Ryedale district was praying for a prolonged dry spell.

mike.laycock@ycp.co.uk