Call to stop cowboys preying on flood victims

Contractors and flood experts are calling on councils in flood-hit areas to bundle repair work into packages to deter cowboy builders.

The warning comes after severe floods in Humberside, Yorkshire and the Midlands left around 300,000 homes and more than 2,000 businesses with substantial flood damage.

As Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged an extra £14m of emergency funding last week, the Construction Confederation and the National Flood Forum urged central and local government to co-ordinate their repair efforts.

A Construction Confederation spokesman said members would welcome packages of work. "Bundling flood repair work seems entirely appropriate and feasible because of the scale of work to be done." But he warned against excluding local builders.

Mary Dhonau, National Flood Forum co-ordinator, said lessons needed to be learnt following the Carlisle floods. "Cowboy builders turned up in their droves and left householders with the most appalling catalogue of shoddy work. Councils need guidelines to prevent cowboy builders preying on flood victims," she said.

The Association of British Insurers said even insurers using framework contractors will struggle to meet demand. A spokesman said: "The need for competent contractors will be immense and as with the Carlisle floods, which involved only 1,000 properties, insurers will have to call upon other contractors outside the region."

The Department of Communities and Local Government said bundling flood repair work is possible. A spokesman said: "Whatever is decided on must be done swiftly and done properly and we are looking to take steps like that to speed up the process."