WORRIED residents who fear they will be hit for a second time by devastating floods have heard plans aimed at averting another disaster.

At a meeting this week, officials put forward plans that should stop South Church and West Auckland being hit by floods again and explained what action they had taken over the past three months.

In June, the River Gaunless burst its banks as 60 tonnes of water a second came downstream.

The Environment Agency is considering a number of defence options, which include:

l Storing flood water in reservoirs upstream;

l Creating flood walls and embankments;

l Widening the river and lowering its bed through West Auckland and South Church;

l And creating a culvert which bypasses the loop of the river at South Church.

A panel of experts from Durham County Council and the Environment Agency fielded a barrage of questions from angry residents in the packed Territorial Army hall in St Andrew's Road.

Some are still living in caravans while they wait for their homes to be repaired.

Wear Valley Councillor John Lethbridge claimed not enough was being done, as rubbish still littered the river.

He told the panel people wanted to see action.

"You can't underestimate the strength of feeling of the people in here. You have people who can't sleep at night, who have nightmares," he said.

"They've been living in awful conditions. They've been preyed upon by thieves.

"These people are suffering a trauma and no matter what you say, I suspect these plans will come down to a price."

After the meeting, Peter Kerr from the Environment Agency said that the date for completion of the defences depended on factors such as planning permission and agreements with landowners.

He said: "People are angry and frustrated. Many people's lives have been turned upside down, or they have lost all their possessions.

"It's understandable people want to get things moving forward quickly."