RESIDENTS of Mill Lane in North Tawton are calling for trees to be removed from the River Taw which they fear are contributing to their properties being flooded.

Householders, who have had to vacate their homes because of recent floods, are furious that no action had been taken to clear the trees which they say are causing 'a dam'.

Margaret Pridham, who has been flooded twice since December, said the trees, which were downriver from their properties near the rugby club, had been collecting there for some time and despite calls to the authorities nothing had been done.

'The river needs totally dredging but if this vegetation could be removed to unblocked the river it would help us,' she said. 'We pay our taxes and expect it to be done — it is ridiculous.'

Mrs Pridham, who is also asking for the leat which runs through North Tawton to be cleaned, said there was a lot of talking going on at the moment about the flooding problems in North Tawton which were wide and varied but that was not helping the flood victims.

'Talking is wind — doing is the thing,' she said. 'Meetings are for people who cannot make decisions. The residents are desperate — we want action now.'

Mill Lane resident Pauline Millis said she did not expect a full scale flood defence scheme but removing the trees was probably half a day's work.

'If the problem could be alleviated a little it would be nice,' she said. 'There are about nine trees in the river and there is an awful lot of silt under the bridge leaving little space for the water to flow.

'The leat has all sorts of rubbish in it from leaves to fridges and doors.'

Head of West Devon Borough Council's environmental service Nick Payne said the responsibility of cleaning areas of the leat and river lay with the relevant landowners.

'We have written to the landowners responsible for the leat and for the river and are currently awaiting their responses to a request to remove the obstruction,' he said.

Mr Payne said the trees in the river were not something that was capable of an instant solution because of the quantity involved and the difficulty of access because of the waterlogged fields.

'As far as we are concerned we want to get the debris and trees removed as soon as possible because they are clearly causing a serious obstruction.'

West Devon Borough Council has commissioned a £20,000 study into the flooding problems in North Tawton which will be released to the public in January.