Brick walls could be built alongside the River Cherwell to help prevent devastating floods happening again.

People in Kidlington whose homes were wrecked when water poured in last Easter, heard last night that the idea was among measures being looked at to prevent future floods.

More than 90 properties were flooded for up to 26 hours in the village - causing damage totalling £750,000.

Officials from the Environment Agency also talked about the best ways of warning people in the future that their homes could be at risk. Ideas include installing sirens and recruiting residents to act as wardens with loud hailers. Regional flood defence manager Peter Borrows told the meeting at Exeter Hall, Kidlington: "There's no way we can prevent flooding entirely. That's very important to realise."

A feasibility study is being carried out to see if earth embankments and brick walls could be built alongside the river.

If the idea goes ahead, the defences could be in place by March 2000.

But parish councils in the area want measures in place much sooner, to calm local people's fears of more flooding.

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