COUNCIL chiefs were forced to defend their response to the Boxing Day floods after being challenged by angry residents at a public meeting this week.

At a packed Radcliffe Township Forum on Tuesday, dozens of people whose homes and businesses have been destroyed took council leader Cllr Mike Connolly and chief executive Mike Owen to task.

During an hour-long debate, which was brought forward to the start of the meeting because of the huge public demand, the pair took questions on the council's response to the floods and interactions with other agencies, including the Environment Agency and United Utilities.

The council have promised to hold a meeting at Bury Town Hall later this month, at which a number of other bodies will be represented, specifically to address the issues surrounding the floods.

Mr Owen said: "I'm not an expert in these matters, and we will be holding a meeting later in January where the Environment Agency, United Utilities, and others will be present.

"We have worked incredibly hard with them and they will be giving answers. A lot of them are still working to stop the ongoing flooding in other parts of the country.

"Our first priority is the clean-up, which we are trying to get done as fast as we can, and to get the £500 payments out to people as quickly as we can.

"£500 is just the start and we have received some more funding from the government this week.

"Then there is the issue of how we stop this happening again. We will be talking to the Environment Agency about their plans for Radcliffe, in particular.

"I accept your frustrations. It's easy for me to say because I go home to a dry house, but I do understand."

Furious residents demanded an explanation for the severity of the flooding, asking why planning permission had been granted for homes in flood plain areas.

They also raised concerns over a lack of cleaning in Close Park and rumours that the flood gates in Salford had not been opened quickly enough during the worst of the flooding, which Mr Owen dismissed as an "urban myth".

Colette Jones, a resident of Parkside Close and chair of the Friends of Close Park group, said: "I would like to say thank you to all of the volunteers. But the council didn't come out for three days and anyone could have been dead in their house.

"All I ask is that the council and other agencies will answer the questions fully and quickly. They let us down."

Cllr Connolly agreed that the council would provide extra skips to areas where they were still needed, including Parkside Close, Waterside Close, and Dumers Lane.

Rhyse Cathcart, a resident of Morris Street, said: "I can really understand how a lot of people are feeling here. There is a lot of fear about what is going to be done and how this could happen again at any time.

"We want to know, realistically, when we can see some sort of action on flood defences being put in place."

Gillian Stainthorpe, president of Radcliffe Rotary Club, added: "When I have spoken to the Environment Agency, they don't know about Radcliffe. It's no good just blaming the council, it has to be at a much higher level and we have all got to work together as a community."

A date for the floods meeting at Bury Town Hall will be announced shortly.