An estimated 55,000 people were affected by the floods

Those who were affected have mixed feelings about whether lessons have been learned.

It cost the economy an estimated �3bn and brought misery to thousands.

Flooding left much of central and northern England engulfed, devastated thousands of homes and - paradoxically - meant large numbers were unable to turn on their taps after water treatment works breached.

A study by the Environment Agency concludes that the organisation reacted well, but adds that many victims could have been given better warning.

Among those who were worst hit, the consequences of the freak weather spells are still being felt.

'Unreasonable request'

They need to work out a system so that people know what is happening - it really can't be that complicated Pete Lancaster

On the same morning that the Environment Agency released its report, Pete Lancaster finally received confirmation from loss adjustors that he would receive an �11,000 insurance pay-out for flood damage at his home in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.

He agrees that the system for alerting householders about rising river levels is inadequate.

"When my partner and I went to bed, the water had only come halfway down the road towards our house," he recalls. "I thought we would be safe.

"But when we woke up, the living room was under a foot of water.

"They need to work out a system so that people know what is happening - it really can't be that complicated.

"I've been living on bare concrete floors for five months, so I don't think that's an unreasonable request."

'Economically viable'

But other victims of the summer deluge believe that much more needs to be done.

Retired buying clerk Jean Vale, 66, only moved back into her home in Evesham, Worcestershire, on 29 November after it was flooded in July.

I don't want to play the blame game, but I do think the various agencies could have done more Caroline Macklin

She says that she was given three warnings before the water arrived on her doorstep - but that she did not have enough sandbags to protect the property.

"The warnings were fine - what they should have done is make sure that this didn't happen in the first place," she adds.

"You never see the river being dredged or the drains being emptied. I wrote to Gordon Brown and he replied saying it wasn't economically viable for this to be done more often.

"But that's how you make sure that the water levels never get so high."

Her views are echoed by Caroline Macklin, 45, a financial advisor from Cheltenham who has been living in rented accommodation since July as a result of the floods.

Builders have estimated that the total repair bill to her home could be as high as �40,000, and she does not expect to move back in until March 2008.

"I don't want to play the blame game, but I do think the various agencies could have done more to prepare for this," she says.

"When the floods struck I was on holiday in Tenerife, so a better warning system wouldn't have helped me.

"I remember when I was growing up that you always used to see the council clearing the drains, but it never seems to happen any more. That's what they really need to concentrate on."