Residents have moved back into their homes, three months after a burst water main forced them to evacuate.

Flood water reached waist height at Knights House, Harold White Close, Risinghurst, Oxford, in June, forcing all 36 residents - some in their 80s - into temporary accommodation.

But now, after living in guest houses and bed and breakfast hostels or with relatives, all the residents are back in their refurbished flats.

Rolston Williams, 82, said he was delighted to be back in his flat after the trauma of moving out.

His flat on the first floor was not damaged but he was still forced to move out while the city council did repairs downstairs.

He said: "When you are away you become a displaced person, like a refugee. I feel very happy to be back in my own environment. The council has done an excellent job."

Dorothy Barson, 74, whose ground floor flat was one of the worst affected, said she was taken by surprise when the water came in. She said: "I was cleaning the budgie out and I looked up and saw the water in the car park. Then it suddenly came through the door. I went out into the corridor and clung to the window sill. I was frightened I was going to slip over. Then the warden came in and got me out."

Mrs Barson was full of praise for the council's repair work on the flats which had repaired the flats but, she said, she had not settled back in completely.

"The council have been brilliant. I have lived here for three years and I love it very much," she said.

She added: "I feel shattered at the moment but I will be happy when I am settled."

A party to celebrate the residents' return will be held in October.

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