WELL over a year has passed since the Great Floods of 1999 brought devastation to a wide area of Ryedale and Stamford Bridge. Yet the effects are still being felt, and the nightmare remains vivid in the minds of those whose lives were turned upside down by the torrents.

At the time we were told it was a once-in-a-century event. Subsequently, experts have suggested that climate changes bring closer the likelihood of another catastrophe.

Water tables on the North York Moors are high again, and the relentless rainfall can only make matters worse. Parts of North Yorkshire are on flood alert today. No wonder many in the Derwent basin are worried.

They were not altogether comforted by last month's launch of the Environment Agency's new flood warning system, which came under the capitulatory slogan: "Flooding. You can't prevent it. You can prepare for it."

No one is suggesting that floods can be prevented. But it is clear many properties can - and should - be defended from flooding.

So today we launch our campaign to Save Ryedale From Flooding. An investment of £5.3 million in flood defences would protect Malton, Norton and Pickering. Dredging the river and cutting back vegetation on the banks would further alleviate the risks of another flood.

It is imperative that everything is done to prevent a repeat of the misery of March 1999. Homes were ruined. Businesses were closed. Roads were blocked and people were stranded. It cost a fortune to mount both the rescue and the clean-up operations. The price in human heartache is impossible to calculate.

Inevitably the authorities are reluctant to spend so much money. With your help we can persuade them that these works are crucial. Please fill in our petition, and encourage your friends to do the same.

Five million pounds sounds like a lot of money. Compared to the price Ryedale could pay without this investment, it is but a drop in the Derwent.