HOUSEHOLDERS who were left devastated by flooding two years ago are on the verge of securing a protection scheme for their homes.

A £50,000 project to offer some relief to people living in the Thirsk Road area of Northallerton is close to getting the go-ahead, civic leaders announced yesterday.

At their latest meeting, members of the River Wiske internal drainage board agreed to press ahead with the College Stell flood protection scheme - and are awaiting a Government grant to allow the vital work to get under way.

Scores of residents in the area, particularly those around St John's Close, suffered during the flooding disaster of November 2000.

Twenty-one houses were affected when the College Stell over-topped its banks after days of torrential rainfall. But now, subject to approval from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), help is at hand.

The drainage board's consultant engineers have drawn up plans for a scheme which involves the replacement of culverts, lowering of water mains and regrading of the watercourse. Extra measures would come from a 100 metre-long wall.

They believe such a scheme would provide protection against all but the most disastrous of flooding scenarios.

Hambleton District Council, the Environment Agency and Wimpey Homes, the firm which built the houses in St John's Close, have all agreed to make contributions towards the cost, but the bulk of the funding is due to come from Defra.

Former mayor of Northallerton and drainage board member, Jack Dobson, praised the long-awaited initiative, saying it would be welcome news for flood-hit residents.

He said: "The scheme will protect residents' properties, allow residents to obtain insurance and create an atmosphere of safety in which residents should be better able to sell their properties.

"It should be recognised, however, that no flood defence works will afford 100 per cent protection - flooding is not an exact science but, in my view, the scheme will afford 99 per cent protection."