NEW flood defences have saved a village near York from being marooned - its usual fate when the Ouse bursts its banks.

While the main road from York into Naburn was flooded last night to a depth of almost two feet, residents could still get in and out of the village the other way, via the road to Stillingfleet.

The road would normally have been even less passable than the road from York.

But over the past few months, the Environment Agency has been building an embankment alongside a stretch of the road to protect it from increased risk of flooding caused by mining subsidence.

The defences were still holding firm today, even though construction work is still a long way from completion.

An Environment Agency spokesman said the £500,000 scheme had been totally funded by UK Coal to counteract future flood risks through subsidence caused by mining work.

Villagers welcomed the construction of the new defences, while many said they would also like to see steps taken to protect the York road because of the inconvenience caused by its flooding. Some suggested it could be raised above normal flood levels. As the river peaked late yesterday afternoon, only vans, Land Rovers and lorries were getting through the floodwaters to the village.

Some residents turned round, and decided to take a long and circuitous detour to drive into the village. Others parked up on a verge and waited for a lift through the floods on a Land Rover provided by North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, driven by York Leading Firefighter Ellis Partington.

One villager told the Evening Press she normally used the road each day to get to work in York, and its closure to cars was a real inconvenience and nuisance. But another said people living in a riverside community should accept that the river might occasionally flood. Parish council chairman Malcolm Wilson said that while many villagers, particularly those who had settled in Naburn more recently, might want to see the road protected, it was hard to see how this could be achieved. "What can be done?" he asked.

"It's a nuisance, but people who have lived in the village all their lives are used to it."

Meanwhile, a group of youngsters looked on the flooding as an added source of entertainment during the February half-term break, repeatedly cycling their bikes through the water.

Updated: 11:57 Wednesday, February 13, 2002