It took a helping hand from the army to clean up flood-stricken Nuneham Courtenay.

And residents are still soldiering on with the sandbags, but on this occasion it is for a happier reason - as props for a wartime production in the village hall.

Nuneham Courtenay was flooded twice in eight days in October, leaving people temporarily homeless and counting the cost of flash floods which devastated their properties.

But amateur dramatics group The Baldon Players is making good use of the sandbags for its production of Oh What A Lovely War!

Villagers affected by the floods have been offered free tickets to the anti-war satire about the First World War, which started yesterdayand runs until tomorrow.

Producer Penny Dudson said they considered cancelling the play after the floods but decided the show must go on, for the sake of the community.

She said: "It is a case of a 'stiff upper lip' and carrying on. We won't let this get us down. It's very important to try to keep a sense of community together."

She said the floods had been devastating for many people, but they were beginning to pick up the pieces.

Some villagers, including parish council chairman Paul Gillett, have teamed up to form an action group in a bid to prevent the same thing happening again.

Residents at an emergency meeting in October were assured that agencies and landowners would work together to try to avert further disasters.

The parish council said villagers were still waiting to hear from those involved about what action to take next.

Mrs Dudson said: "All the residents are leaving the sandbags at their doors as there is nothing to stop it happening again. We haven't got to the bottom of what caused the flooding yet.

"Everyone has tried very hard not to point fingers at people, but a lot of the houses are ruined and they won't be back to normal for about six months.

"It is like a destitute village - with all the sandbags it looks as though they are preparing for war."

Villager Colin George, one of the players, said the cast had been wondering when they started rehearsing where to get hold of sandbags. He added: "Given recent events we needn't have worried - however we'd have rather foregone the circumstances that led to the generous provision by South Oxfordshire District Council."

* Tickets for the play are available at Clifton Hampden Post Office or Flower Angel in Nuneham Courtenay, or by calling 01865 340361.