THE former leader of the Tory party has added his voice to calls for urgent action to prevent further flooding at Northallerton.

A torrential downpour earlier brought more misery for many householders when floodwaters burst into their homes.

For some, it was the second time in just six weeks that they had had to put up with the heartache of ruined furniture, carpets and electrical equipment.

About 63mm of rain fell on the town in 19 minutes when a thunderstorm brought an end to the heatwave last Tuesday afternoon.

Hambleton District Council opened its emergency centre at 5.15pm after receiving 30 calls on a 24-hour flood line.

By the time the centre closed two-and-a-half hours later, 84 calls had been received and during the evening about 1,200 sandbags were distributed.

Angry residents in the Quaker Lane, Brompton Road and Stokesley Road areas of the town were so incensed they called a public meeting on Wednesday night.

They pointed the finger at a sewerage system which they claim is inadequate and are calling on people to inundate Yorkshire Water with letters of complaint.

Local Tory MP William Hague also expressed alarm at the containing problem.

"There is clearly something seriously wrong when a town centre can flood so rapidly after such a short period of rain," he said.

"People understand that a flood can occur in exceptional circumstances, but North-allerton now seems to be experiencing major problems on a regular basis. A solution to this must be found urgently."

Julie-Ann Mitchinson was one of those whose home, in Crosby Road, was flooded for a second time in six weeks - and she was still in negotiation with her insurance company.

"It was about six or seven inches deep in the kitchen and then it came through the rest of the house like a wave," she said yesterday.

She and her husband now plan to build their own flood defences around their property.

Hambleton council's head of corporate services, Cyril Dyke, said the problem had been that the highway drains simply could not cope with such a huge amount of rain falling in so short a time.

A spokesman for Yorkshire Water said: "Northallerton is not unique in the problems it faced. We saw the heaviest rainfall in about 15 years across the region and the system was not designed to cope with the sheer volume of water in such a short time."