A KENT couple say their home - flooded in October 2000 - is now worth "peanuts" after insurance companies refused to renew their policy. The property was once valued at £250,000.

David and Sandra Mears have struggled unsuccessfully to find insurance cover and now say their house is unsellable. The couple, who have lived in The Square at Yalding, near Maidstone, for 20 years, made a £60,000 claim after the main flood of October 2000.

When their policy came up for renewal three months later, insurers Lloyds of London said it was not prepared to offer them flood cover for their cottage. Seven months later, their insurers refused to cover them for flood damage to the contents of their home.

Mr Mears, 50, said: "At this moment we are sitting on an unsellable house. It's disgusting that we are faced with an insecure future just because of where we live."

Ironically, Mrs Mears, 56, works in reinsurance security. She said: "Getting insurance is a bit like getting a credit rating and we have effectively been blacklisted just because of our postcode."

The couple have tried to obtain full insurance from numerous other companies, only to be told that they will not take up new policies on homes in the ME18 6 postcode.

The Mears said if they did want to sell up, buyers would be unlikely to get insurance cover - meaning they could not secure a mortgage. Compounding the couple's problems is the flood 'tax' the Government wishes to impose on residents in high-risk areas.

Mr Mears said: "I will not pay this tax. To be quite frank, I'd sooner go to prison and I'd be interested to hear from anyone else who agrees.

"We won't be trampled on. I cannot sit back and watch the Government take advantage of our situation. If anyone can help us it would be great."

Steve Manton, Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute and name at Lloyds of London, stressed that the issue was complex.

He said: "Insurers are having to look carefully at this difficult situation. At the moment the problem is that no amount of premiums will cover the losses if flooding occurs. If it's almost a certainty flooding will occur, homes simply do become uninsurable but greater investment in defences is the key."

This was echoed by a spokesman for the Association of British Insurers. He said: "It isn't fair for these people and we don't want to leave them without cover, but we need better investment from the Government to reduce the risk in the first place."