An Oxford pensioner who has been flooded out of her house for more than four months has spoken of her joy at being able to return home.

Rosemary Pearson and her husband Joseph are the last of the Oxford City Council tenants to be able to move back into their homes in Normandy Crescent, Cowley - where 24 homes were wrecked when a water pipe burst on January 25.

And the couple are now behind plans for a street party for the affected residents.

Mrs Pearson said: "It's glorious being home and it's a great improvement. They've done an excellent job and it feels like a new house again.

"There's boxes everywhere at the moment but we're getting there and we'll be able to sleep in our own beds again."

The Pearsons were among the first to move into the area when the houses were built 50 years ago.

The street party, which is being organised by the Horspath Area Residents' and Tenants' Group - likely to be held at a nearby recreation area in August - will celebrate the return to normality.

Mrs Pearson said: "We need to celebrate it because the estate will be 50 years old and a lot of people have been here for 50 years.

"I think it's a wonderful place. When we first moved here I thought it was the best estate in Oxford. It was the quietest and nicest and friendliest, and I haven't changed my ideas."

She said the party would be a family event, including a picnic.

Supermarket Lidl, in Watlington Road, which donated £50 vouchers to each family affected by the flooding, will be supplying the food for a barbecue on the day.

Other activities are also planned which will be confirmed nearer the time.

Mrs Pearson said: "Hopefully it will be a good day with a nice picnic and everyone will have a great time."

She also praised all the people who had helped throughout the last four months, from the firefighters who pumped an estimated million litres of water from the street after the pipe burst, to officers from the council and staff at the Premier Travel Inn, where she and her husband had been staying since the flood.

She said: "I would not have believed so many people would come to our rescue. They seemed so organised.

"They couldn't have looked after us better at the Travel Inn if we were VIPs, they were absolutely brilliant."

She added: "It will be nice to pick up the old threads of life but I think life will probably be different in lots of ways because you keep flashing back."

Although Mr and Mrs Pearson were the last council tenants to return home, some of the eight families who owned their own homes are still waiting to move back.

Pauline and Wayne Ximines and their three children should be able to move back on July 7, and other homeowners are expecting to return at a similar time.