CAMPAIGNERS worked tirelessly to get multi-million-pound defences installed after the devastating floods of 2007.

Yesterday it was clear from visiting many areas that their efforts had paid off to varying degrees.

The message from residents across the county was that it could have been a lot worse.

While it is still early days and there’s only so much you can do to protect against Mother Nature it’s clear that money spent on various schemes has had an effect.

We saw the flood barriers for Osney Island go up on Sunday as the county prepared for the worst and yesterday they seemed to have gone some way to protect homes in the area.

There was a similar picture over in South Hinksey which has benefited from flood defences worth £1m put into nearby Hinksey Stream including new flood walls.

Residents in the area, previously victims of flooding, have had pumps installed in their homes which are going some way to alleviate flood water.

But with a limited pot of money and resources the defences can only go so far in protecting people and their homes.

Despite all the efforts of council and Environment Agency staff, there will be people across the county today counting the cost of damage to their businesses and homes. We can only hope that it is not as bad as what we’ve seen in previous years.