Chichester, hit by floods last autumn, may escape unscathed this year according to a new report.

Measurements taken in a borehole, the key indicator of groundwater levels in the area, are 65ft lower than this time last year.

A report to district councillors said: "The current levels of groundwater give good reason to hope that this winter will not see a return to the scale of flooding last year."

But council officers said there was no room for complacency and recommended spending £20,000 on a series of drainage schemes.

Last year, a massive pipeline was set up around the city to pump water out of the swollen River Lavant, which started to burst its banks.

It was an operation praised by Tony Blair when he visited the city during a tour of areas battling to cope with flooding.

Work has since started on a permanent flood relief scheme which will take water out of the river through a special channel.

Members of the council's executive board have been told that, when it is completed towards the end of 2002, there should be no need for the type of operation which disrupted the city last year.