Firecrews were called in to help pump out water from Stapleton Road, Seamer, as one of the wettest Augusts on record continued to wreak havoc.

Residents watched nervously as water levels rose throughout the night and are demanding action to prevent the problem from being repeated. Dorothy Botham, speaking on behalf of her neighbours, said she had lived in the street for six years and the water had risen so high in 2002 that her home was flooded.

She said: "This is the second time we have had to use sandbags, the last time was August 2007 but the first time it got into our property. "We just weren't expecting it to come in. We were just watching it rise."

She said there was a problem with nearby drains which had never been adopted and the situation was not being resolved because no one would accept responsibility.

Mrs Botham said she and her neighbours had literally had enough and were planning to form an action group in the hope they could get something done about the problem. County Cllr David Jeffels said it was vital that the problem was resolved.

"Because the apparent obstruction in the drainage system is in a private garden this has caused legal difficulties but I hope North Yorkshire County Council Highways and Scarborough Council's environmental officers can bring about a satisfactory solution as a priority."

"A number of homes came very close to being flooded last night but fortunately the problem was allayed due to prompt action by Scarborough's highways department team who were on the scene with extra sandbags within minutes of being alerted, as were North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service's flood team."

Yesterday's torrential rain, which battered Scarborough for most of the afternoon and early evening, was the latest in a series of heavy August downpours.

Tuesday saw 10.6 millilitres of rain coming down in one day, making a total of 2.73ins (69.4mm) for the month so far. And there's more on the way.