FLOOD defence cash could be cut by a third under a council cost-cutting drive.

West Oxfordshire District Council is bidding to cut the flood defence budget from £177,200, this year, to £120,800.

It is part of a bid to cut its £11.4m revenue budget to £10.9m, though this could fall again to £10.6m.

Council leader, Barry Norton, said the reduction was for temporary staff taken on after the 2007 floods to administer flood defence work and point out potential hazards and breaches on private land. It would remove a post from the team, which has the equivalent of three-and-a-half full-time posts.

The council will bid for Government grant cash to keep it.

Mr Norton said: “A lot of the work has been completed, and in a lot of cases we are moving on to do the works.”

He said the council had led a major drive to inspect private land in recent years.

Yet the mother of a teenager who died after getting trapped in five feet of flood water in a culvert in 2008 said she was “very worried” about the news.

Max Sullivan Webb, also known as Max Weeden, 17, died after becoming stuck in a flooded culvert off Eastfield Road.

A grille was installed over the culvert by the landowner on council advice after the youngster’s death.

Mother Kate Weeden said: “Myself and my husband are not happy about it.

“They surely cannot cut this because it is so important, especially after what has happened.

“So many people are affected by flooding, it wasn’t just me. This can’t happen again.”

Richard Andrews, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said: “West Oxfordshire District Council needs to ensure local watercourses and ditches are properly maintained in the future, and Lib Dems will want to be sure that adequate staff are retained to do this.”

Across the council, Mr Norton said there were “no plans” for forced redundancies, but managers would look at not filling empty posts.

Staff were also being moved into other departments, and this was why the chief executive’s office budget was expected to rise from £61,500 to £80,300, he said.

He said: “We have always run a very, very tight ship, and we do everything we can to protect frontline services.”

Mr Andrews said: “At first sight, the draft budget is a realistic combination of efficiency savings and trimming of costs, without significant reductions in services or staff.”

He said the budget was at its earliest stages.

The plans will now be studied by the council’s economic and social overview and scrutiny committee, before going to all members on February 23 for a final decision.