AN international company has been handed a six-figure bill after “inadequacies in utility work” resulted in several flooded homes and motorists stranded in their cars.

Last November, two people were rescued in Sleights, near Whitby, and eight homes were flooded.

Torrential rain washed 600 tonnes of gravel down from an escape lane – known as an arrester bed – on the A169 Pickering to Whitby road at Blue Bank, Sleights.

The A169 was closed for five days, and highway officials had to clear the gravel from nearby houses and gardens.

A report by North Yorkshire County Council revealed the flooding was caused by damage and obstruction to numerous culverts, allowing water to flow under the road.

Utility firm Interserve will now face a £180,000 bill owed to the council for recovery costs and damage to the culverts.

Residents who experienced flood damage can claim for property damage and recovery.

The county council is also paying £36,500 for improvements to the highway and the culvert capacity.

The report said: “The volume of water conveying down Blue Bank was sufficient to remove the content of the arrestor bed which runs parallel to the highway for much of the descent, and 600 tonnes of material were deposited on the Bank, causing deep channels of surface water, which made it difficult to safely remove those trapped in vehicles on the bank and left people stranded until the water subsided.”

The clear-up involved drainage repair work and the installation of specialist replacement material for the arrester bed.

A team of 14 worked to clear the road, with two excavators, two tracked vehicles, two sweeper lorries, one gully cleaner and one jetting wagon working on site.

The arrester bed also had to be refilled with around 600 tonnes of new material which required 15 transport lorries.

The culverts will be added to the Flood Risk Asset Register, meaning their condition and ownership are monitored.

Today Interserve has been awarded a £227m contract to provide facilities management services to the Department for Work and Pensions, just a day after it issued a profit warning.