The Government yesterday announced new £16 million grants for flood protection work in 77 local authority areas – but North Yorkshire was not on the lucky list.

Defra Secretary Hilary Benn said that of that sum, £9.7 million had already been designated – but the vast majority will go to big cities like Leeds, Hull, Derby, Nottingham and Bristol.

Shire counties fare very badly on the list although Mr Benn did invite rural councils to bid for the remaining £5 million.

The list will invite criticism from many residents in North Yorkshire, where the Aire Valley south of Skipton and the Ripon area of the Ure valley are highly susceptible to flooding.

The survey concentrates heavily on urban areas where most of the land surfaces are covered in tarmac or concrete which pour millions of gallons of heavy rainfall into inadequate sewers, often laid down in Victorian times. It was this that caused massive flooding in Hull two years ago.

That said, rival politicians are likely to jump on the fact that most of the money has been granted to areas with a majority of Labour MPs, now facing the prospect of losing their seats at a general election next spring.