TWENTY-eight people and five dogs were evacuated from their homes after flooding hit the North Tawton community for the fourth time in ten months.

Firefighters said it was the worst flooding incident they had seen in the town — they had to abandon their first attempts to pump out properties in Mill Lane because of the speed of the water coming in from the River Taw.

A temporary shelter was set up overnight in the town hall for flood victims and the community rallied around to help.

But as the flooding misery for the town's householders continues, attention has again focussed on the need for urgent action.

Sue Weedon, who had to have a new porch, a new floor and kitchen after the flooding at Christmas said it was 'absolutely devastating and extremely stressful' to go through it all again.

'The damage is worse this time because a lot more water came into the house and it is just going to happen again and again if something is not done,' she said.

'We can never relax because we are always watching the river — it takes over your life.'

Mrs Weedon said the residents needed to form an action group, raise funds themselves and forget about the statutory authorities and agencies coming up with the money for a flood defence scheme.

A survey being commissioned by the borough council to the tune of £20,000 to identify all the sources of flooding problems in North Tawton, and who is responsible for what, is due out in a few weeks, but Mrs Weedon has described it as a 'waste of time'.

'The information they have found out is already known and it's nearly a year since we were first flooded. When people's lives and homes are being wrecked this delay is not acceptable — in fact it is an insult.'

Mill Lane flood victim Roger Millis said he was fed up with being 'fobbed off with feeble excuses'.

'Everyone is very anxious that it is taking so long and once the new housing planned for North Tawton starts to go up the problem could be even worse,' he added.

North Tawton Town Council chairman John Kinsey said residents had nothing to look forward to but more flooding.

'The Environment Agency is talking about a flood defence scheme for the River Taw in 2004 — we need it now. People are devastated by what is happening.

'My personal view is that we should go to West Devon Borough Council for a precept of £300,000 next year and then we can start the work ourselves because nobody else seems to want to do it,' he said.

West Devon and Torridge MP John Burnett, who visited the flood victims on Monday morning, assured local people he would be getting representatives from all the agencies and authorities including the Environment Agency and South West Water around the table as soon as the survey was published.

'There will be nowhere for any of them to run,' he said. 'I will make sure this is given the priority it deserves — action must be taken.'

West Devon Borough Council spokeswoman Alison Stoneham said £20,000 for a survey was 'a drop in the ocean' as far as flood defences were concerned and an awful lot of work had been put in to both identify the problems and suggest solutions.

'The borough council is the only agency that has put any money into the project — we tried to get others to help us but nobody was forthcoming,' she said.

'From the way we are being criticised left, right and centre it looks as though we are not doing anything when in fact we are.'

North Tawton fire station commander Twiggy Lake said the floods were the worst he had seen in North Tawton because of the sheer volume of water and the 80mph gales.

'It was a very frightening situation,' he said. 'We had to retreat from the cottages in Mill Lane at midnight because the water was rising at the front of the building so fast we could not get it away quick enough.'

Firefighters, including crews from Okehampton, Crediton and Exeter, returned to the scene in the early hours of Monday morning and also attended North Street where water from the leat had flooded into two properties.

They also rescued an elderly lady at Bondleigh and 100 birds and two donkeys from the village's animal sanctuary.