Flood probe set to begin in Ryedale

The inquiry, which will focus on rising ground water levels in Malton and Norton, is part of a broader review of the floods that have devastated vast areas of North Yorkshire this year.

North Yorkshire County Council, which is leading the investigation, aims to establish how agencies responded and worked together to manage the flood risk and how the infrastructure coped.

Gareth Dadd, North Yorkshire’s executive member for environmental services, said: “An investigation is crucial and hopefully will shed some light on the issues we are dealing with, the things we did right and how we might best respond to any future event.

“As a nation we are just at the beginning of investigations into the impact of rising ground water levels, which are likely to become an increasing problem.”

A number of properties in Malton, Old Malton and Norton were inundated with sewage-contaminated floodwater after heavy rainfall at the end of November.

A £9m flood defence scheme prevented the River Derwent from breaking its banks but it was powerless against the sheer volume of surface water that backed up the drains.

The council will begin gathering information from Yorkshire Water, the Environment Agency and district and borough councils from next Thursday.

It is also appealing to affected residents to email an account with times, dates, locations and the extent of the flooding, along with any pictures to [email protected].

The investigation is expected to report back in March.