Floods were worse back then (From Gazette & Herald)

Floods were worse back then

PICKERING may have suffered from no fewer than three serious floods in the last five years, prompting residents and the Evening Press to campaign for defences to end the misery.

But as these pictures reveal, the town has long been plagued by the problem, particularly in the inter-war years, with floods in 1925, 1927, 1930, 1931 and 1932.

One picture shows youngsters enjoying a tow in a home-made boat along Newbridge Road during the floods of 1932.

Residents are also pictured a year earlier, being transported through floodwaters at the bottom of Market Place on a cart pulled by a horse called Bonnie, owned by Pickering Urban District Council.

The pictures reveal that the impact of flooding on the town was even greater then than now. But more than 60 residential and commercial premises still remain at risk.

With global warming thought likely to lead to even heavier spells of rainfall on the North York Moors, the problem looks set to worsen rather than ease in the 21st century.

The Environment Agency's £6.7 million flood defence proposals were shelved last week amid concerns about the cost. The Evening Press's petition calls for the Government to give the agency another two years to come up with acceptable proposals to protect the town from flooding, so that scenes like these are never repeated again in the future.

The pictures are reproduced from museum curator Gordon Clitheroe's book, Images Of England: Pickering, available at shops in the town for £12.99.

Updated: 14:14 Friday, January 23, 2004