THE Environment Agency's plan to sell almost half of the lock-keepers' cottages along the River Thames has been put on hold for at least six months.

The plan to sell or rent out ten properties in Oxfordshire to cut costs prompted widespread concern.

Yesterday the agency said it was delaying a final decision pending a further review, which is expected to take six months.

Lock houses at Godstow, Culham, Wallingford, Sandford-on-Thames, Little Wittenham, Buscot, Shifford, and St Johns were to be rented out, and two houses in Laburnum Road, Botley, and at Rushey, near Faringdon, were to be sold.

Richard Thurston, of the Oxford Flood Alliance, said: "The Environment Agency have explained that their staff are not life-savers, but they do provide a very reassuring presence for residents when there is flooding."

Last week, Oxfordshire County Council expressed concern about the plans, warning they would affect the ability of the county's emergency services to rely on lock-keepers at times of flooding.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: "Following a meeting with the minister Phil Woolas, and MPs Martin Salter and Theresa May, we have agreed to put on hold any changes proposed by the lock house review until we have completed our full review of Waterways staff roles and responsibilities, and terms and conditions.

"No action will be taken to sell or rent lock houses until these negotiations on the full review are completed.

"We anticipate that this will take six months but this guarantee will continue until all negotiations are completed or January 1, 2009, which ever is latest."