Second home owners hit by a 100pc council tax surcharge could help fund new flood defences for Norfolk's poshest village.
Chelsea-on-Sea became Chelsea-in-Flood when an ancient watercourse burst its banks in the centre of Burnham Market.
Businesses and homes were flooded, while some villagers have been unable to flush their toilets and others have had to leave their homes in a repeat of flooding which the village suffered in 2021.
A packed public meeting on Tuesday night heard flooding engineers from Norfolk County Council are looking into whether a 15ins diameter culvert which the Goose Beck flows through could be widened to 24ins.
Steven Halls, senior flood risk officer with Norfolk County Council, said: "We need a proper land drainage system through the centre of the village but I don't have a budget, we would have to apply to government for capital funding."
Mr Halls said it was hoped initial modelling could be completed by September, when a bid could be prepared for funding.
North West Norfolk MP James Wild said extra funding could be available from Norfolk's County Deal, which would see the county given millions in extra funding from Whitehall.
He added some of the proceeds from the extra council tax soon to be levied on second home owners in the village could also go towards the work.
West Norfolk council has agreed to impose a 100pc surcharge on second homes across the borough.
Around 50pc of properties in the Burnhams will be liable, with those with weekend residences and holiday homes stumping up an extra £400,000 a year between them.
Tuesday night's meeting at Burnham Market Village Hall, was attended by more than 50 locals, along with officials from Anglian Water, the county council, Environment Agency, Internal Drainage Board, West Norfolk council and local politicians.
Villagers complained of being unable to flush their toilets after sewers backed up, while one man said his property had been flooded three times during November and December, adding: "It's soul destroying."
Others said drains along some of the roads remained blocked.
County councillor Andrew Jamieson, who chaired the meeting, said it was not political but had been called to discuss short, medium and long-term solutions.
Mr Halls said problems stemmed from a "double whammy" of so-called infiltration, where groundwater seeps into sewers via cracks and joints and inundation, when flood water enters the system via manhole covers.
Anglian Water has spent £1.5m on an upgrade to Burnham Market's water recycling centre, including a new storm tank.
Its head of water recycling networks Paul Louth told the meeting it had also carried out a CCTV survey of sewers in the village and spent £300,000 re-lining them.
Locals believe the village's sewer network cannot cope with the number of extra properties in the village, particularly large holiday homes which have replaced smaller properties in and around the Burnhams.
But Mr Louth said the need was estimated to be 145l per person per day, with 2.5 people living in a property and there was plenty of capacity.
Rory Sanderson, an environment management team leader at the Environment Agency, said between September and October, the area had suffered the highest rainfall since records began in 1871.
"You live next to a schizophrenic river," he said. "We only came out of drought in September, this has been a very wet winter."
One man at the back of the room was not impressed as the meeting came to a close after almost two hours.
"I've sat here all night listening to a load of things and all I've heard is a lot of old squit," he said. "You all want sacking."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here