PEOPLE of a flood-stricken North Yorkshire village are taking matters into their own hands to clear an overgrown river and its banks in a bid to prevent future flooding.

The move follows a public meeting during which environment agency boss Peter Holmes said there was no hope of a flood defence scheme being carried out at Sinnington, near Kirkmoorside, until 2007 at the earliest.

Parish council chairman Bill Baldwin said : "We fear it could probably be nearer 2010 before anything is done."

Some 15 cottages in the village were hit by the flooding last August.

Mr Baldwin said it was probably 20-years since the River Seven had been cleaned out by the former River Authority, and the situation had got worse in recent years.

"We have the equipment and the expertise and we believe we can put right the lack of maintenance in the riverbed and banks which we are confident has played a large part in the flooding," he said.