ELDERLY residents evacuated from their homes in Thirsk are facing a three-month wait before they can return.

Forty residents from Gillings Court old people's home and Todds Court had to be evacuated by mountain rescue personnel early last Friday morning and taken to the town hall.

The majority are unable to return and are staying at Cherry Garth old people's home in Thirsk, Beechwood home in Northallerton, or with friends and relatives.

Mr Stanley Knight, aged 74, and his wife Joan, aged 80, were evacuated from their ground-floor flat at Gillings Court and are currently being housed at Cherry Garth, where they are sleeping on camp beds.

Mr Knight said: "It's the trauma of it, because my wife's health isn't good and because of the cancer I have, I have been told I have four to 12 months left.

"So, if I only have the four months minimum, we won't be back home and settled before it happens. I'm not giving in to it though, I hope to be here for two or three years.''

The couple met six years ago when Mr Knight moved into Gillings Court and they married last November.

Ms Gill Hagh, head of housing services at Broadacres, which owns Gillings Court and Todds Court, said: "There are two groups of people at Gillings Court. Some will be able to go back in a month, while others will have to wait up to three months.

"We are assessing the situation at the moment and until we have a clearer picture of what needs to be done and what the residents want to do, we can't move forward.''

Mayor of Thirsk, Coun Freda Roberts, said: "The town council will certainly be wanting to know what Hambleton, the Environment Agency and other bodies are going to do about the floods at Todds Court, where they were told it would flood.

"They built a pseudo bit of banking, but that was washed away. Something needs to be done, that whole area wants looking at and we will be asking Hambleton and the other agencies what they propose to do for the future.''