A COUPLE who went to great lengths repairing rare flooring damaged in floods, saw their house inundated with sewage-filled water just five hours after new boards were laid.

Sue Robson, from Ramshaw, near Bishop Auckland, said she "pleaded with, begged and demanded" officials to create a trench at the back of her home to prevent it flooding for a fourth time this year.

She was devastated on June 4 when her home, which dates back to the 1800s, was hit by 3ft-deep wall of thick sludge which flood waters had carried from a sewerage works upstream.

Mrs Robson and her husband, Mike, lost most of their possessions, and were particularly upset that rare flooring covering the ground level of the home had been destroyed.

Carpenters worked flat out to replace the reclaimed maple wood flooring.

On November 2, at 4pm, the last boards were put down, but by 9pm all the work was destroyed as water again flooded into her home. Their home flooded again four days later.

"My husband and I fought so hard to stop the floods coming in - every single day we were pumping water out. It was soul-destroying."

The couple are living in the attic of their home, with just a kettle, toaster and microwave.

County Councillor John Armstrong has arranged a meeting with officials from the Environment Agency, Teesdale District Council and Durham County Council at the Robsons' home, next Friday.

A spokeswoman for the Environment Agency said it was too early to say what defences were planned, but said they were looking into installing temporary defences in the area.