John Prescott has just three weeks to help save Ryedale from another flooding disaster.

Hopes of fast-tracking a £4 million scheme to protect Malton and Norton were today resting on the Deputy Prime Minister.

Councillors from across Yorkshire made clear yesterday they were not prepared to foot the bill for the disaster and for a range of new flood defence schemes, including one proposed for Ryedale.

They told a meeting of the Yorkshire Regional Flood Defence Committee that a proposed 63 per cent increase in their levies to the committee would mean either unacceptable council tax increases or equally unacceptable cuts in services.

They said Mr Prescott had promised during a visit to York that the Government would meet the £4.9 million costs of the November emergency in Yorkshire.

Now a delegation of councillors is planning to head to Westminster to press him and other Ministers to keep to that promise, with a decision on the levy deferred until a specially-called meeting on February 2.

And another delegation of flood-stricken residents from Norton, Malton and Old Malton is travelling to the capital on January 30 to meet Agriculture Minister Elliot Morley.

They want him to agree to central funding for the Ryedale defence scheme, so that it can be fast-tracked.

When Mr Prescott visited flood-stricken Malton in November, he said he wanted to see a flood defence scheme installed as a matter of urgency.

Residents are concerned that, even if Mr Prescott agrees to meet the £4.9 million costs of the emergency, that may still not be sufficient to ensure that Ryedale's scheme goes ahead. Councillors could still be left facing a levy increase of between perhaps 30 and 40 per cent on February 2 to meet all the other costs, including new capital schemes - and it is by no means certain they would agree to do so.

Councillors said their delegation will press for "as much as possible" from the Deputy Prime Minister, including the possibility of a special 100 per cent grant from the Government for the Ryedale scheme.

Ryedale MP John Greenway said today he had stood on the County Bridge at Malton with John Prescott and heard him say that he wanted to see a flood defence scheme for Malton and Norton as a matter of urgency and real priority.

"The action must match the rhetoric. They have created the expectation and must fulfil it."

And a Ryedale councillor has accused Government Ministers of making political capital out of the local floods crisis.

Coun Charles Scott told a full meeting of the district council last night that they should write to the Cabinet Office "using very strong words" demanding more Government action on Ryedale's flood defences.

He added: "In the beginning of November Blair, Elliot Morley and John Prescott almost broke their necks to get here to make political capital out of the people. There is no political capital this month so they are conspicuous by their absence."

Updated: 11:41 Friday, January 12, 2001