FLOOD victims are celebrating the announcement of £1 million for flood defences in Castley.

Castley Lane people were delighted to hear that the Environment Agency has agreed to raise the sum for the embankment from the original estimate of £500,000 - but say they will not crack open the champagne until the diggers move in.

The Environment Agency's Yorkshire Regional Flood Defence Committee last week approved the £1,015,000 plan to build a metre-high earth embankment, which it hopes will be completed by December this year.

The scheme also includes building up the road where the embankment crosses Castley Lane.

Consent for the scheme from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), is still needed, although the Environment Agency estimates that work will begin this summer.

Castley Lane resident Gavin Barlow said: "That's really good news. But what we do say in Castley Lane is that we won't believe it until the diggers move onto the field. It depends a lot on the time it takes DEFRA to approve it."

Many of the 16 houses and three farms on Castley Lane have flooded seven times since 1991, leaving residents with the task of drying out and redecorating their homes, often having to replace electrical appliances wrecked by flood water.

Residents are anxious to see flood defences in place once again before the usual high-risk time for flooding in winter.

Another resident who has been badly hit by the floods, Alison Denman, was also pleased to hear the defences are one step further, but said she would ideally like the planned embankment to be bigger.

Mrs Denman said: "I'm surprised by the amount, as we were told £500,000, but absolutely delighted, obviously.

"I've still got a question in my mind as to whether the plan they've got in mind for us will really work.

"It's a bit different when you are at the other side, standing in two feet of water in your house, and you wonder whether a three foot embankment would actually stop the volume of water we had last time."

She said she would like a chance to discuss the details of the flood defence plans with Environment Agency officers.

Mrs Denman said she welcomed any flood defences, but would like a guarantee that the defences will be effective as the Environment Agency claims.

The Environment Agency said properties in Castley Lane have flooded seven times since 1991. The most recent incident was in February this year, when 13 homes were affected.

The Agency said it has now asked DEFRA to agree to the scheme, which will offer increased protection against floods, with just a one in 50 year chance of flooding. The defences are expected to take into account predicted climate change and the frequency of flooding in the past.

It commissioned a feasibility study to determine the most appropriate method of cutting the risk of flooding.

Other options considered for flood defences included flood relief channels, floodgates, and improvements to river channels.

Chairman of the Yorkshire RFDC, Roy Ward, said: "The Agency has been working on a scheme for Castley Lane since the floods of autumn 2000.

"This is a major step forward in providing flood defences for a community that has been badly hit by flooding over the last decade."

A DEFRA spokeswoman said: "We have received an application for grant aid and it will be considered against the normal environmental and technical criteria."