As help started to arrive for marooned Naburn, villagers there were determined to stick it out at home.

Half the village is under water, some houses were yesterday without electricity and the only way to get supplies is a hour's trek along the Selby-York cycle path.

But the Women's Royal Voluntary Serv-ice and York Social Services have delivered dozens of frozen meals. Two members of International Rescue Corps were running a boat service non-stop fer-rying sandbags and supplies and rescuing villagers non-stop.

Villagers were heating the frozen meals and making door-to-door deliveries to elderly residents and people unwilling to leave their homes.

Others were running shopping errands with toilet rolls and bread being top pri-ority.

Two teenagers have done a bread run on their bicycles for other villagers.

Resident Judith Robson expressed the feelings of many when she said she was reluctant to leave her home but the thought of a hot meal tempted her to go and eat at the Village Hall, the headquar-ters of the rescue mission.

Jenny Gray said from the first floor of her flooded house that Naburn seemed to get forgotten, but she could hold out for at least another day.

And that was the view of many villagers who would not let a 16 foot flood drive them from their homes.

James Spearman, father of six-day Millie, said his family were well stocked up and prepared - and the new addition to the family of five was doing fine.

Fellow new father Robert Watt with his visiting father made a two-hour round trip on foot along the sodden cycle track to get in supplies for 13-day old Alex and his family.

One of the village's eldest residents, George Dinsdale, was ready to face any-thing after he got what he wanted - the Evening Press.

Thirty papers went in with the first food deliveries.

But for others the loss of power was too much. Northern Electricity sent in Land Rovers and restored supplies to several homes, but not all.

Long-term resident Rodney Hornby said the floods were not as high as in 1977 - but in one way they were worse because they were lasting for days.