WORK has begun on a £400,000 flood defence scheme for the Ryedale area.

The project will provide a permanent pumping station for the Priorport Beck area of Norton-on-Derwent, near Malton.

It is being built as a result of a funding partnership by Ryedale District Council, the Environment Agency and Redrow Homes.

People in the area have suffered from the effects of flooding because of problems with water backing up the beck when the River Derwent has burst its banks.

The new station will ensure that excess water can be pumped away from properties and over the flood defences, into the River Derwent.

Work on the pumping station, situated where the Derwent and Priorpot Beck meet, is being carried out by Dobsons Civil Engineering and Construction Ltd of York Road Industrial Park, Malton.

It is expected to take about three months to complete and the station should be up and running this summer.