RECENTLY the D&S reported publication of a local book, The Great Flood of Thirlby 2005. Thirlby is a small North Yorkshire village outside Thirsk, rather off-the-beaten-track for most of us but, on the evidence of this book, with the true beating heart of a rural community.

One sunny June afternoon in 2005, a sudden extreme rainfall event flooded the village in what is described as 'probably the most significant event in the village's history'.

Much of the 150-page book is taken up with 34 eyewitness accounts (representing half the households), photographs of the unfolding drama and details of the long-running recovery period. However an important concluding chapter includes constructive and plain speaking reflections by Ken Arkley, then chairman of the parish meeting, of the difficulties at the time and lessons learned by a small Yorkshire community which faced a sudden and almost overwhelming emergency.

This last section would make worthwhile reading for anyone with a leadership role in their local community. The book is available at £11 including postage and packing by post from Thirlby Local History Society, to whom cheques should be made payable, c/o Watergate Farm, Sutton, Thirsk YO7 2PU.

Ruth Annison, Askrigg.