TEAMS of skilled divers have been brought in in an effort to complete flood defence work hampered by recent heavy rain.

Work in Malton and Norton has been held back because water levels on the swollen River Derwent are too high.

Now Environment Agency staff and contractors Interserve have turned to the specialised underwater engineers to help them get their stretch of the vital work completed.

The divers were expected to start work tonight on installing a section of pipe and a flap valve to an existing culvert.

John MacDonald, Interserve's project manager, said: "We are very keen to complete these essential flood defences for the two towns and have been looking at different methods of working.

"These include using a large crane at one side of the river to install defences on the other side, and using diver teams to install valves on the culverts that are underwater."

Residents have been reassured by the Environment Agency that it is doing everything possible in a bid to finish the work as soon as possible.

Jenny Williams, from the Agency, said: "We understand the concerns of local people and it is frustrating for us too that we are not going to meet the planned completion date at the end of November, but unfortunately we have had nature to contend with.

"The nearly-completed defences will offer some level of protection for the community but we are not yet at a stage where we can say they are completely watertight.

"However, we are ready to bolster the defences if river levels rise further."

Ryedale District Council's property manager David Summers, who has been working on the Mill Beck pumping station, said they too were considering alternative devices to get the work done.

"We have brought in an inflatable stopper that is going into a culvert, and we are trying that and hoping it will work," he said.

The aim of the stopper would be to halt the flow of water so that levels went down and enabled engineers to gain access, he explained.

"If we can get it in place in the next two days we would hope that we will still hit the December 8 target.

"But if we don't and we still have problems, it will make things more difficult."

He added: "We are conscious of the end dates of the closure of the scheme, but we are working with the constraints of the weather."

The forecast for the weekend is improving, with dry spells tomorrow and maximum temperatures of 11C.

Heavy showers moving northwards are expected around midday, although it should become drier overnight with the odd shower on Sunday.

Updated: 11:50 Friday, November 22, 2002