Residents of a village that was cut in two after a river burst its banks are to be offered a flood prevention scheme.

Plumpton Green, near Burgess Hill, has flooded seven times since last October, when the Bevern Stream overflowed.

On at least three occasions, the village has been cut in half and residents from one part were unable to reach the station to get to work.

Meanwhile, children from the other part of the village were unable to go to school.

The worst flooding was last October, when flood waters damaged floors in several homes as well as numerous gardens.

Now Lewes District Council has decided to implement flood prevention measures.

Lindsay Frost, the council's chief planning officer, said: "The probable source of the flooding is the lack of capacity of the culvert in the bridge in Station Road.

"When it gets flooded up, it overflows into gardens and houses."

One option the council has been considering involves digging the river deeper and removing plants and other materials, which have been blocking the flow of water.

Another involves measures to regulate the water flow before it reaches Plumpton Green and the creation of an official flood plain for excess waters.

Paul Ramsey, who lives in School Cottages, Station Road, which runs over the bridge where the flooding occurred, said: "People did not moan about it.

"They came up with a potential solution that the council is currently considering."

Mr Ramsey's floor was damaged in the flooding and after making a claim for insurance, the company increased his premium dramatically.

His next door neighbour, John Angel, was trapped in his house for four days during the worst of the flooding in October.

He said: "The water came up very, very quickly. We asked the Environment Agency to drain it but we were told they couldn't. The field behind my house was drenched with about two feet of water.

"There are so many obstacles in the stream, it would really help if they were all removed.

Plumpton Parish Councillor Brenda Watson and her husband William have lived in East View Fields in the village for 15 years.

Mrs Watson said: "Something needs to be done urgently but knowing how the councils work, I have reservations because they have a lack of money."

Mr Watson said: "One of the problems is the village is built on clay so there is nowhere for the water to go. I am also concerned about flooding at the railway line behind us because the live cables could blow a fuse."

Keith Moorhouse, the Lewes district councillor for Plumpton, Streat and Westmeston, said: "The biggest issue is whether the culvert is big enough to carry the abnormal amounts of water we have had. We may need a larger one fitted.

"We want a drainage consultant to study the area and find out if land drainage is going on upstream or if waste from new houses or the railway is putting pressure on the stream."

Lewes District Council voted to explore flood prevention measures at a meeting yesterday.