RESIDENTS in an Oxfordshire village hit by repeated flooding will have to pay thousands of pounds from their own pockets to pay for future damage.

Householders in Nuneham Courtenay are finding insurance companies are adding to their misery by insisting on large excesses on their policies.

Paul Woodman had his home flooded on two successive days.

He has been forced to pay an excess of £5,500 before repairs, which he estimates will cost "tens of thousands of pounds," can be carried out on his two-bedroomed terraced property.

Mr Woodman said: "Because of the previous flooding which happened three years ago we have had to pay an excess on flooding damage. I have had estimates from builders but until the problem is solved there is no point in having the work done, so it will be probably be well after Christmas. I am quite sure we will not be insured at all for flooding in the future."

Nuneham Courtenay was hit by widespread flooding in October and again late last month.

Insurance experts have confirmed flooding victims will be forced to foot a large part of future bills themselves.

Broker Stuart Schofield, of Chipping Norton firm Allen & Schofield, said: "People who have been flooded are being told their excesses are increasing. They will have to pay a higher proportion of any subsequent flood themselves. That is a problem and it is getting worse."

Association of British Insurers spokesman, Michael Tarling, said: "Winter rainfall has increased by 30 per cent in the last 40 years. Insurers will continue to cover people for flood provided the Government puts proper flood defences in place."

Insurance companies base their flood risk assessment policies on maps drawn up by the Environment Agency which in turn gathers its data from the Wallingford-based Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

South Oxfordshire District Council has commissioned a draft report recommending that ditches in neighbouring fields in Nuneham Courtenay be cleared and made deeper while the capacity of a nearby pond is also increased. The report has now been passed to landowners, including Oxford University, and it is hoped action can be taken as quickly as possible.

Council spokesman Shona Parsons said: "The problem occurs when a large volume of water flows off the land very quickly. The proposals are to increase the capacity of the land to hold water and allow it to flow more slowly through the village."