FLOOD defences are to be bolstered with sandbags and pallets in a village near York - 'purely as a precautionary measure' - as the River Ouse rises.

The Environment Agency said staff would be taking action this afternoon in Cawood, several miles downstream of York.

A spokesman said the sandbags would be placed along the tops of flood walls and the pallets used to create a temporary barrier.

He said the village's flood defences were built to withstand river levels of up to 8.1 metres and stressed that the agency did not expect the Ouse to reach such heights.