Christmas is the traditional time for families to get together and have fun in their own homes.

But sadly that won't be happening for some this year.

The July floods may be a distant dream to most of us, but others are still suffering the effects.

Latest estimates show that more than 100 families in Oxfordshire will not be home for the festive season.

Their homes were so badly damaged by flood water that they will have to celebrate elsewhere.

It looks as if some homes may not be ready for occupation until well into next year.

And, of course, there is no guarantee that they won't be flooded again.

Some Oxford homes have been flooded three times in seven years, and on the law of averages, it is a fair bet that they will be under water again before any real relief comes.

Some improvements are being made to the city's flood defences, but as we reported last week, there seems little likelihood of any major work being done in the city until at least 2015.

Flood defence is clearly not a high priority in the UK.

What is baffling is that countries like Holland have lived with the threat of flooding for years and have somehow learned to manage it.

Why can't we do the same?

Meanwhile, all we can hope is that the homeless' families can move back soon - and that they, and we, are spared any future floods.