A Heighington councillor is calling on Darlington Borough Council's highways department to take more action to prevent flooding in the village.

Parts of Heighington were closed during the recent floods, with blocked storm drains causing the most problems.

Councillor Gerald Lee, a member of the authority, said: "Compared with parts of Darlington we have not had too many problems but, even so, I have been kept busy with complaints from residents.

"I intend to meet with the highways department to discuss a maintenance programme whereby all drain positions are identified and cleaned out on a regular basis, rather than reacting after flooding occurs.

"This should alleviate some, but not all, of the problems."

Coun Lee said that in case of future floods householders should be looking to safeguard their property.

He said: "The local authority has limited legal obligations to assist householders in flooding matters, which together with our distance from Darlington, means we should be looking to safeguard our own properties.

"If people feel that their property could be deluged, I would advise that they take precautions and have sandbags ready for an emergency.