BROMPTON'S flood victims have delivered an ultimatum to council chiefs: "Act now or take the consequences."

They gathered in the village hall to demand an explanation as to why recommendations made in a report written by the Environment Agency after floods in 1979 were never acted on.

Dr John Gibbins, who lives in Water End, told officials at the meeting on Monday that he had conducted a survey among residents.

The Teesside university lecturer said between 150 and 190 homes had been flooded with 90 of those now empty. The average insurance claim was £20,000-£25,000, the highest being £45,000.

"I haven't been able to estimate the damage to the school. But I bet repairs and shipping the children to other schools is going to cost between £200,000 and £m," he said.

"The report in 1979 stated that the whole of Brompton, the whole of Northallerton and the whole of Romanby could be protected from flooding for £135,000. The cost so far in Brompton is £2.3m."

Dr Gibbins said all who had filled in the survey had admitted to suffering stress, anxiety, depression or illness as a result of the floods.

They wanted a plan to protect Brompton from flooding within six months.

If not, he said villagers had three legal options. One would be to go to the local government watchdog. Another would be to take civil action and a third would be to use the new European Bill of Rights, which states people are entitled to protection in their homes.

Mr Peter Howe from the Environment Agency said another investigation was being carried out.

l North Yorkshire councillors on Wednesday called on the Government to establish a new emergency framework to deal with any repetition of last month's floods.

The council called for a review of the responsibilities of the Environment Agency and other authorities to ensure effective and comprehensive co-ordination of flood prevention measures.

l Flood warning for businesses and Environment Agency pledge to Ripon: page