Flood victims across Oxfordshire are turning to an Oxford bookbinder to help them save their precious collections.

Ian Barnes, who owns Temple Bookbinders in Headington, said flooding in the county had created extra business.

Following the floods in July last year, the firm was contacted by several residents whose books ended up water-damaged.

Mr Barnes, 45, sent the books to Harwell Laboratory near Didcot, so that they could be freeze dried as part of the repair process.

Mr Barnes said: "The books are put in polythene bags and then put into the freezer before being carefully dried out.

"We were called to a house in Witney following the floods in July and hundreds of books were damaged - they had been submerged under 3ft of water.

"But if the books are handled in the right way many of them can be restored, and we are in the process of doing that now.

"This is going to happen more and more with flooding and we advise people to keep their books at least 12 inches above ground level.

"They should also put the more valuable stuff a bit higher up. I'm not necessarily talking about monetary value - books that have a personal value are also important."

Mr Barnes said the collection taken from the Witney home included valuable volumes dating back to the early 18th century.

Mr Barnes said the older books survived the flood better than the more modern books, some of which were paperbacks.

He added: "The owner of the Witney collection was very upset when he phoned up but we are trying to do everything we can to help."

Mr Barnes estimated it would cost £400 for one book to be freeze-dried and fully restored.

A book collector himself, Mr Barnes began his career as a 16-year-old apprentice and then worked for many years at one of Oxford's oldest bookbinders before setting up on his own.

"It's hard to get trained bookbinders and we are always looking for new recruits," he added.