RESIDENTS in a village that badly flooded last winter are threatening direct action if no works are carried out to protect their homes.

Villagers in Brompton, near Northallerton, are preparing for the worst this year after flooding last November. About 130 houses in the village were affected and the cost of repairs could be as high as £3m.

Residents have pleaded with North Yorkshire County Council, Hambleton District Council, the River Wiske drainage board and the Environment Agency to protect them from flooding this winter but so far no works have been carried out.

A resident's action group is being formed, including the chairman of the parish council and the ward members on the district and county councils.

Dr John Gibbins, who lives in Water End, Brompton, is spearheading the group. "We are not attacking the authorities but, if nothing is done in the short and medium term, we will definitely pursue direct action," he said.

The Environment Agency this week began dropping leaflets in the area to advise homeowners on how to protect their property. It has also published two booklets on damage limitation and what to do after a flood and opened a floodline on 0845 9881188.

A "flood fair" takes place at the Great Yorkshire showground in Harrogate tomorrow offering advice to the public on how to protect homes and businesses.

The Brompton action group is sending a delegation to the fair, but Dr Gibbins blasted the authorities for passing the buck.

"You can buy flood doors and get sandbags at the ready, but if two feet of flood water arrives, it is going to eventually get in your house," he said.

"What seems to be happening is that all the authorities which have a legal obligation to protect people from flooding are privatising the problem via the flood fair and putting the onus on home and business owners to come up with their own solutions.

"But they have a legal duty to identify problems and raise the money to do the work that is necessary to defend us."

The Environment Agency has commissioned a hydraulic model of the Northallerton area to identify flooding hotspots and look at long-term flood defences.

But pessimistic villagers are already preparing for more flooding this year. "There are no short term, immediate plans to protect Brompton and Northallerton in the coming months and that frightens us," said Dr Gibbins.

Brompton Parish Council is organising a public meeting with representatives of the River Wiske drainage board, the Environment Agency and the district and county councils, to take place in October.

l Parish council's concern: page 11.