MORE than 25,000 homes in York and Selby are at risk of flooding, an environmental group has claimed.

Friends of the Earth said Environment Agency information had shown 2,106 of the 11,699 York homes which are seen as being at threat of future flooding were facing a “significant risk”, with 438 of the 13,710 flood-risk properties in Selby being in the same category.

The organisation fears flooding will become more widespread due to climate change.

Yorkshire campaigner Simon Bowens said: “As a country, we must do much more to prepare for the impacts of climate change, and without proper investment in flood defences, hundreds of thousands more homes could be at risk.”

Local MPs have been asked to support calls for flood defences in line with risks posed by climate change.

York Central MP Hugh Bayley said the threat in York was increasing as rainfall patterns became more unpredictable.

He said: “Everybody in the Ouse and Foss catchment should contribute to reducing the risks, which means planting more trees and creating ponds and lakes upstream to slow the run-off, as well as improving flood defences in the valleys.”