The council has already increased the number of filled sandbags it has available at depots to provide an immediate response if flooding is threatened.

But the authority is also looking at ways to distribute more sandbags locally to try to minimise the risk to householders.

Four parish councils have been consulted in areas known to have a high flooding risk – Whitson, Catcliffe, Treeton and Dinnington. There are two types available, the traditional bag and a new type which soaks up water to expand and make a barrier.

Only three of the parish councils have storage space to keep traditional bags where they would be protected from the weather and Rotherham Council has reservations about the modern alternative, called Floodsax.

They are significantly more expensive than the normal type, are regarded as potentially less effective by council staff because they are more difficult to mould into shape and are heavy to lift after being inflated with water.

Providing all four parish councils with a stock of 1,000 bags would also cost £38,000 and the council recognises it would be "inequitable" to make them available to some vulnerable households but not others.

However, there would be "substantial" costs to provide them on a more widespread basis, with replacement costs because unused bags have a shelf life estimated at five years.

The costs would be about double the price of providing conventional sandbags.

As a result, councillors are being recommended to offer stocks of normal sandbags to parish councils and other bodies which have suitable storage space. They will make a decision today on whether to go ahead with the proposals.

A policy has been introduced that extra teams of staff will be switched to fill extra sandbags immediately when a warning message is received from the Environment Agency.