The Evening Press has taken its campaign to Save Ryedale and Stamford Bridge From Flooding right to the top.

The move came as 500 soldiers and RAF personnel from York, Strensall, Catterick, Topcliffe and Leeming were on standby across North Yorkshire to assist as the floods crisis deepened.

We presented a dossier about the campaign to Prime Minister Tony Blair during his visit to York yesterday.

He said more money would be put into flood protection schemes in coming years, and defences in York would need strengthening.

And his Agriculture Minister, Elliot Morley, immediately held out some hope that proposed relief schemes will go ahead along the River Derwent.

He confirmed that, because Norton and Malton and also Stamford Bridge had suffered two major flood disasters in quick succession, they will increase their points score in a formula which helps determine which schemes should go ahead.

Chief Reporter Mike Laycock explained to the Prime Minister how the paper had launched its campaign calling for protection schemes only weeks ago - just before the communities suffered their second flood in 18 months.

Articles in our dossier explained how householders and business people were throwing their weight behind our petition, including a pensioner who believed his wife suffered a stroke because of the stress caused by the floods last year.

Mr Blair was told how Di Keal, of Norton, pictured at the launch of our campaign last month, had now seen her home inundated again.

In a letter to the Prime Minister the paper said that residents were desperate and angry that their properties had been ruined a second time, and that they might suffer yet another catastrophe before defences were finally installed.

We decided to press for the Prime Minister's support for the schemes to be fast-tracked after the Environment Agency indicated it did not intend to speed up the work, despite this week's floods.

Meanwhile, Mr Blair held out hope that more would be done in future to strengthen defences in York.

"There's already a great deal of flood protection here but there's obviously going to have to be more in the future because it's putting a strain on the entire system. We have to make sure that proper flood protection is put in place. We are going to have to put more money into it."

Environment Agency officials told Mr Blair that some water was seeping through the flood banks in York, although this was usual in such circumstances.

Flood defences were being bolstered today along a 100-yard stretch of the flood walls near Lendal Bridge. More than 50 soldiers from Imphal Barracks and Strensall were laying a foot-high line of sandbags along the top of the wall to protect the North Street area. Officials stressed this was just a precautionary measure.

Meanwhile, difficulties for motorists increased with both main north-south routes through North Yorkshire, the A1 and A19, hit by flooding and police urging people not to drive unless absolutely necessary.

Weather forecasters warned that more heavy rain was on the way at the end of the weekend and early next week after a drier couple of days.

In Hambleton, the district council is working around the clock to deliver sandbags to residents. More than 25 tons of sand has been shovelled into 1,200 sandbags and staff at a local builder's merchant are on standby to provide more. Three council workers in a truck had to be pulled free by a local farmer's tractor after getting stuck in a flooded lane. Boroughbridge was on alert today as the Ouse peaked at 9am. Flooding hit Thirsk and the A19 near the town was only passable with extreme care.

At Ripon, the River Skell burst its banks and the A61 was closed between Ripley, near Harrogate, and Ripon. The villages of Helperby, Brafferton and Myton-on-Swale were also on alert after a flood warning on the River Swale was issued today.

The people of Cawood narrowly escaped having to be evacuated in the middle of the night after fears grew that flood defences protecting the village from the swollen River Wharfe might be breached.

Fifty families from nearby Kellington were evacuated from their homes and taken to the Abbey Leisure Centre in Selby. Peter Evely, City of York Council's head of highways regulation, said: "We've got an awful long way to go before the flood defences are breached - about 2ft 6in before we get into difficulties."