A CALENDAR showing rivers bursting their banks has been sent to thousands of people who have fallen to victim to floods.

Recipients have branded the Environment Agency calendar an insult and insensitive, saying the last thing they want in their homes is a picture of flooding.

The calendar features dramatic photographs of rivers across the North-East and North Yorkshire in full flood and has been sent to people who use the agency's Floodline telephone information service.

On the reverse of each picture there are tips on how to deal with floods and one page offers a colour-in picture of Inspector Downpaw - a cartoon cat dressed in a mackintosh and wellies.

Stewart Chapman, who lives at Water End in Brompton, near Northallerton, suffered flooding at his home in October 2001.

"It is a bit of an insult looking at a calendar with pictures of floods when your own house has been under water," he said. "You hardly want to put that on your wall.

"A lot of people in the village are very annoyed because it is a complete waste of money - money that could be spent elsewhere."

One woman, whose house was flooded when the River Browney, near Durham City, burst its banks three years ago, said: "Being flooded is a pretty traumatic experience and I can't believe they have wasted all this public money on something like this. It is very insensitive. They should be spending money on helping us so we don't get flooded again."

The Environment Agency has defended the calendar, saying it raises awareness of the dangers of flooding, but has also said sorry to anyone upset by it.

Jean Varley, corporate affairs manager for the agency's North-East region, said: "If people have been upset by the calendar we would apologise.

"The intention was not to upset anyone but to draw attention to the message that flooding is a serious issue in those areas, in the same way that there are adverts for things like smoke alarms and drink driving at Christmas."