A senior council officer from Oxfordshire is in Brussels this week to seek European money for the cost of last summer's floods.

Cath James is being joined by Parmit Dhanda, MP for Gloucester, as part of the British Government's application for recovery funds.

She is the strategic director for environment at West Oxfordshire District Council which was the county's worst-affected area last July, with more than 1,600 homes hit by floodwater.

A council spokesman said today that she would be talking to a European Parliamentary committee about how the floods affected individuals, communities, farmers and businesses not just in her district but in other parts of the country. She has been liaising with local authorities, including those in the North of England.

A provisional assessment of the damage nationwide was made to the European Union Solidarity Fund last August. The Fund, set up in 2002, provides money in the aftermath of major disasters.

Barry Norton, council leader, said: "The strain is still being felt today, seven months after the event."

In west Oxfordshire, the direct aftermath costs have included repair work to roads, bridges and sewers.