Measures are being promised to prevent a recurrence of serious flooding which swamped a row of village houses.

Local councils and the Environment Agency are working on an action plan to deal with ineffective drainage at Rack End in Standlake. During the severe flooding this winter, 13 homes were under water after the River Windrush burst its banks.

But the situation was made worse by poor drainage systems and the infilling of an historic ditch, according to a report by agency officers, West Oxfordshire District Council environmental services department and the county's highways engineers.

Now, the roadside ditch system in High Street is to be brought up to standard and a section of defective pipe in Rack End to be replaced. The Environment Agency is looking into the costs of raising a section of the banks beside the River Windrush. The scheme is being given "high priority" status, according to Paul Lankester, the district council's environmental services director.