RESIDENTS living near the green at Low Bentham have been flooded for the fourth time in the last few weeks.

The rising water, which first occurred on September 20, led to an elderly lady being evacuated from her house on the edge of the green.

The area flooded again on October 4 and 6 leaving another neighbour struggling to get to her garage. She said she has to wade through the water whenever she needs to get her car out.

The town council is due to meet again on Monday and the flooding issue is on the agenda.

Members raised the issue at the last meeting when fears were voiced that the water could contain sewage because the United Utilities pumping station had been affected.

They also suggested the flooding problems stemmed from the development of the surrounding area in recent years, which had affected water run-off.

Villagers are now asking when work will be carried out to clear the blockage in a drain which is said to be causing the water to back up.

The district council's environmental health officer, Tim Bassett, told the Herald three weeks ago that a contractor had been called out only days after the initial flooding, but had been unable to unblock the drain because of the depth of the watercourse, which is between 15 and 20 feet deep.

It also runs across the village green and underneath filled ground.

Another specialist contractor from West Yorkshire had subsequently been called out and was due to try and identify the cause of the collapse and blockage two weeks ago.

The environmental health department said when the problem had been identified the council would use its powers under the Land Drainage Act to get the owners of the watercourse to rectify the problem.

But the delay in getting the water drained from the green is not helping residents who are being inconvenienced.

A spokeswoman for the district council said the environmental health department was still in discussion with North Yorkshire County Council to try and discover who the riparian owners of the watercourse are.

"In the meantime we are working with NYCC to fit a pump to take any water away that collects due to heavy rain. It will not be working constantly, but will be switched on in the case of further flooding. That will help to alleviate the situation until work can be started," she said.