VILLAGERS are furious after a mining company decided it may - after all - want to tunnel under their homes.

Residents of Naburn, near York, say they will "fight tooth and nail" to stop RJB Mining digging underneath their village.

The company told villagers last summer it was putting plans to mine under Naburn on hold.

But now it says it is reviewing this decision, and will make trial bores in the seam directly underneath the village to test the viability of taking on the project.

Villagers will be informed of its final decision in six months' time.

Subsidence resulting from mining under Naburn could leave the village at risk of flooding from the River Ouse, meaning the Environment Agency would probably have to revive plans to build a flood barrier.

But residents fear that this large flood wall would wreck their riverside gardens.

Village campaigner Laura Hanson says she is planning to write to the Secretary of State about the situation.

"We have been through this before," she said.

"The whole village is against mining under Naburn. We see that nothing can be gained from this whatsoever from an environmental or economic point of view. "Naburn is a really nice village and we have lots of wildlife. If there was a flood barrier, the area wouldn't recover for 20 years.

"It's ridiculous to go ahead with this plan just to keep a few miners in a job when the effect on our village would be catastrophic."

Naburn has been included in the potential mining area for the Selby coalfield since planning permission was granted in 1976 but the company has not needed to use the area before now.

A spokesman for the mining company said: "We did indicate last year that the immediate plans to mine the area were being put on hold.

"We have now indicated that we are looking into mining plans to prepare firm proposals which will be discussed by the end of the year. We are trying to be frank and open at all times."

He added that even if the company were to decide to mine under the village, work would not begin for "two or three" years.

No other village was in the same "sensitive" situation as Naburn, he confirmed. "The coal is there under Naburn and can be mined safely and in an environmentally-acceptable way, but it will require some flood defence mechanisms to be put in place."

Environment Agency officer Bob Parry said it had been decided last year that a flood prevention scheme, partly funded by RJB, would not go ahead after the company indicated it was not proceeding with mining under Naburn.

The agency was now in talks with RJB, but detailed plans had not yet been finalised. If any mining threatened to cause subsidence and increase the flood risk, a fresh flood prevention scheme would be drawn up.