FIREFIGHTERS who rescued elderly people from flooded flats were guests at a party to celebrate the residents' return to their sheltered housing complex.

The emergency services personnel were greeted with a round of applause as they arrived at Oswin Grove, in Gilling West, near Richmond.

The event, on Friday, marked the return to the flats by residents who were evacuated from their homes when flash floods hit the village last July.

Richmondshire District Council, which runs the complex, organised a buffet lunch for residents, council staff, councillors, social services representatives and firefighters from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Council staff returned to the sheltered accommodation when torrential rain brought flooding to parts of North Yorkshire on Monday, but Oswin Grove was not affected.

Melva Steckles, leader of Richmondshire District Council, who attended the party, said: "It was nice to see the same people who I met in more dramatic circumstances last year, when the flooding forced them out of their homes - but this time they were back in the comfort of their apartments."