THE village of Naburn was starting to mop up today after being cut off from the outside world during the worst floods to hit York for six years.

The Environment Agency said no properties in Naburn had been flooded. The village school was closed, but traffic was once more able to use roads inundated with water overnight.

In York about a dozen properties were flooded in the King's Staith area, according to agency spokeswoman Sara Hyman.

The flood waters affected areas throughout York.

Water seeped into restaurants and homes in areas including King's Staith and Tower Gardens, and threatened properties in Fulford Ings, Acaster Malbis and parts of Bishopthorpe.

Flooding covered paths between Clifton and Scarborough Bridges and Lendal, while Skeldergate was closed to traffic.

But the Environment Agency said no properties were flooded in the Fulford Road area, and a City of York Council spokesman said the A19 wasn't affected.

The site of Naburn Sewage Works was also flooded, but Yorkshire water spokeswoman Helen Brown said the facility was still working at capacity.

The river peaked at Cawood at about seven metres above normal around midnight, but no properties were flooded as the level stopped four inches short of the flood banks.

The agency expected the peak at Selby at about 11.40am today, but the anticipated 5.35-metre level shouldn't cause problems.

Ms Hyman said the Ouse in York peaked at 13ft 6in above normal around tea time yesterday, but added: "The levels are dropping off now, and the river has fallen about a foot since the peak.

"We expect there to be a slow and steady fall throughout the day."

Although the forecast was for scattered showers the agency wasn't expecting any problems, and its amber two warning had dropped to amber one.

The York Flood Group, made up of senior officers from the emergency services, the Environment Agency and the council, held its first meeting since 1995 to make flood plans yesterday.

The council's emergency planner, John Simmons, said: "This is the worst flooding we have had in the city for at least six years.

"All the emergency services are working together to ensure a smooth and effective response to any problems that may arise."

Yorkshire Water was today investigating a 20ft deep, two-ft wide crater in Bewlay Street, of Bishopthorpe Road, which is believed to be a result of the rain.

A water company spokesman said if it was a collapsed sewer it could mean major disruption to residents because the hole was so wide and deep.

Businesses and homes count cost

THE devastation in the Yorkshire and Humber region is expected to cost around £10m to put righ.

But no figures were today available for the local cost.

A City of York Council spokesman said the arrangements for dealing with major flooding in the city had worked "pretty smoothly".

They had stopped streams flowing into the river, and there had been little damage to residential property.

Jean Varley, of the Environment Agency, said no properties behind the flood wall in York had been affected.

Prevention systems, including diverting water on to land north of the city and stopping Ouse water flowing into the Foss, had all worked. "It's a well-practised routine in York," she said.

The agency said there were no flood defences for Naburn, but the water would have had to rise another two feet before properties were affected.

The outbreak of rainy weather responsible for the flooding haad a dampening effect on retail sales.

Figures released today showed that while sales pulled ahead for most of May, the rain curbed shoppers' enthusiasm.

Sales rose 5.7% in May, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), though the last week of the month saw a fall off in business as the poorer weather kept shoppers at home.

Like-for-like sales, which exclude the effect of new and expanded stores, were ahead 3.2%, roughly in line with the trend over the last three months.

Mark Bradshaw, acting director general of the BRC, said: There is some evidence of increased consumer confidence, but shoppers remain extremely bargain-conscious, which is exacerbating price deflation across the sector."

Today's sales figures showed fashion and footwear picked up early in the month but trailed off when the wet weather arrived in the last week.

Food and drink sales, particularly alcohol and barbecue products, were also hit by the rainy week.