THE flood-hit residents of Old Malton must not be forgotten once the waters recede, warned a Yorkshire member of the European Parliament.

Timothy Kirkhope, Conservative MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, was in Malton on Friday to see how the town was coping after roads and homes were swamped when drains failed to cope with torrential rain.

He said: “What I’m trying to do now is establish what’s happening in the aftermath because that is often more tragic than the flooding itself. In my experience, it takes an awful long time for people to get back to normal.

“There are going to be extra resources from Government and I want to make sure those resources are monitored.”

Following talks with local business owners and residents in the town, he said residents there should not be forgotten.

“It happened following the floods in Hull and it’s harmed their health and livelihoods. I don’t want this to happen in Malton.”

The area of Old Malton worst affected was Town Street, where a swollen river, combined with heavy rain and a beck which has been culverted under the road, resulted in water coming up through the drains.

Tony Hemesley, an Old Malton resident and former head of Ryedale District Council, said: “The efforts of the Environment Agency and fire service were very well co-ordinated.

“We had seven pumps putting six to seven thousand litres of water a minute back into the river but the river is only 40 per cent of the problem.

“We need a permanent pump from the culvert into the river. That means the water could be pumped out before the road flooded.”

Geoff Magee, 83, who has lived in the Town Street area all his life, said: “I think we are just going to live with it.”