A FLOOD-HIT village has heard it will have to wait another year for a £600,000 scheme aimed at solving its problems.

Neasham has been knocked out of this year's Environment Agency programme by the £4m earth dam needed to stem the flow of the River Gaunless into South Church and West Auckland. Those areas were severely flooded when the river broke its banks two summers ago.

On Monday, Neasham Parish Council reported a letter from the agency, simply saying its scheme had slipped into 2003-4 because the cost of other projects had increased.

A concerned chairman, Coun John Weighell said: "My only worry is that this will happen every year. We must let villagers know what is happening."

In November 2000, the village was a hair's breadth from disaster when beck water overflowed Kent Bridge.

The outline plan would divert water from Cree Beck and Neasham Stell relieving Kent Beck - the main culprit in recent floods.

John Buxton, Darlington's director of development and environment, was praised for his quick thinking when he used a JCB and sandbags to plug the hole in the village's defences at Kent Bridge.

Told that the scheme had slipped back a year, Mr Buxton checked with Peter Holmes, N-E flood defence manager.

"He said the flood defences at the River Gaunless were more expensive than had been thought and that was a higher priority than Neasham which would be included in the 2003-4 programme," said Mr Buxton.

"I can understand they have to have priorities. A lot more people were affected at South Church.

"But the Neasham scheme is not something that is going to slip back and disappear. It will get done," said the director.

Coun Weighell said later: "It is a needy cause at South Church and I do realise we are 99pc of the way there and we are just waiting for the final funding.

"Last winter we came very close to another flood. This winter we have been spared, despite high waters; who can say what will happen tomorrow.