EIGHT WEEKS after floods hit parts of Oxford, Government minister Phil Hope visited the city to praise volunteers.

But after disabled pensioner Susan Libor spoke to him, he soon found out that for many the nightmare was far from over.

Sitting on the street in front of her flood-wrecked home, surrounded by bags of her belongings, Mrs Libor told him how she was still trying to find a new place to live.

For ten minutes, the minister stood in Earl Street and listened to an angry Mrs Libor tell him how flood water had left her home of 27 years in ruins - for the third time in eight years.

She told him how, as a disabled person who relies on two sticks to walk, she had struggled for weeks to find suitable alternative accommodation in the city.

And how, with no phone or transport, she had been left to her own devices by the authorities who should have helped her.

Mrs Libor, 76, said: "The Government should be doing much more, in terms of money, teaching people, using the environment and not concreting in the floodplain.

"How many Oxford colleges flooded? None. And they were built in the middle ages. People in the 1400s and 1500s understood the problem. But modern technology does not seem to help.

"The Government must take more action. I know it's money, but instead of killing people in Iraq, prevent your own people being flooded."

Mrs Libor said it was only the help of family and neighbours that pulled her thorough the experience.

So far the cost of the flooding in Oxfordshire is estimated at £3.5m to local authorities and £34m to private homeowners.

Mr Hope said the Government had already provided financial support for the county.

He said: "One million pounds is a big contribution that the councils value. Extra money to support the county council will help. It is about a partnership between central and local government."

Quizzed about future flood defences and emergency response, Mr Hope said a full-scale review had been ordered.

Praising the efforts of volunteers, Mr Hope said: "I've been really impressed by the level of professionalism I have seen today."

  • Cash from the Government to help flood-hit residents is "completely inadequate", the leader of Oxford City Council said yesterday. John Goddard spoke out following a public meeting at the Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton, where experts warned that climate change would trigger more flooding in future.