We were flooded - with crocodile tears: Despite MPs promises, flood defence plans have been shelved throughout the country

Severe: The RNLI had to rescue people in Morpeth during the 2008 floods

Those moving home hits lowest-ever level as Britain's housing market grinds to a halt

Frozen market: Fewer than ever are moving house, with first time buyers at a record low

Owners who want to move are stuck in their homes, crippled by the frozen mortgage market, the huge deposits demanded by lenders and high stamp duty.

Dream home... nightmare bills: The MacKinnons' mortgage is sizeable, bills are spiralling and a large family doesn't come cheap

Reluctant sellers: The MacKinnon family in front of their Victorian family house in Kent

As the recession continues to bite middle-class families, the MacKinnons know something has to give. fter six years they are selling their dream home, Spitzbrook House in Kent.

We can’t ALL bank on Halifax’s interest rates

Read beyond the deals: Halifax no longer publishes the rates it charges to non-customers who don¿t apply for one of its current accounts

Take a look at Halifax’s newspaper adverts or website and every one of the dozens of fixed-rate and tracker deals listed applies solely to current account customers.

Locals cry foul over soccer boss Mark Hughes's plans for a £5m Footballers Wives-style mansion in Cheshire's golden triangle

Football manager Mark Hughes has angered villagers by applying to tear down part of Brampton House in Alderley Edge and turn it into a 'green' family home

The Fulham manager wants to demolish the back of historic Brampton House, which dates from the 1850s, and build a lavish ‘environmentally-friendly’ family home.

'They've even taken the toilet seat': Homeowner's misery as she gets £500k house back from tenants (only to find it's been 'ransacked')

Gone: They even stole the loo seat (left)

Homeowner Denise Joannides wept when she saw the state of her £500,000 house after Samir Gashi, his wife Lendita and their four children left hours before bailiffs were due to arrive.

The house The Jam built: Bruce Foxton, bass guitarist in the famous Seventies band, is looking for a new Start

To do list: Bruce Foxton wants to cement his reconciliation with Paul Weller, his childhood friend and The Jam's former frontman

He is sellingl his house in the commuter belt village of Wonersh near Guildford, Surrey, which is on the market for £1.55million.

Remortgaging: Should you stay or go?

Realistic: There's no such thing as a free lunch in the mortgage market

Is it better the devil you know in today's troubled mortgage market? Lenders are trying to persuade their customers that they can save a lot of hassle - as well as a decent amount of cash - by sticking with them at remortgage time.

Your grand design: Building a green dream home can mean lower running costs and should make you a profit

A bold build: Marl Cottage, which overlooks the Vale of Clwyd, is being sold by the Copelands

Enterprising Britons are being encouraged to build their own homes. Housing Minister grant Shapps has promised to make it easier, pledging that the barriers standing in people's way will be torn down.

Real rural splendour: The market may have contracted, but country life has lost none of its allure...

Idyllic: Despite the cost of living in the country, rural properties are still popular

For anyone pondering trading city living for ­rural bliss, a report on the high price of life in the country is a sobering piece of news.

Top Trompes! Bring a sense of playful mischief to your furnishings with quirky designs that trick the eye

Rug, from £695, Stamp Rugs, stamprugs.com

It's easy, baby! Transform a corner of your home into a nursery for the new arrival

nursery cartoon

Motherhood is paved with good intentions. Before the baby arrives you go to extraordinary lengths preparing everything in orderly fashion — the cot, chest of drawers, pictures on the walls, chiming toys.

Beyond the pale: Celebrate the minimalist trend this spring with chic white accessories

White out: Bedstead, £329, bedside table, £279, lamp, £89, bedding, £55, quilt, £115, cushions from £15, Marks & Spencer, 0845 302 1234, marksandspencer.com

While it may not be the most practical colour (dogs, children and spillages all come to mind), there’s no doubt that it’s pared-down simplicity at its best.

For sale, the house with a very strange hiss-tory: Desperate realtor slashes price on Idaho home infested with SNAKES

Snakes in a House.jpg

Even the man trying to sell this house admits it has a 'horrible' problem. But there are snake lovers in the world, so he remains hopeful.

So pretty in pink: It's time to ward off the winter blues with spring's most uplifting colour for the home

Colour of the year: Duvet cover, £40, pillowcase, £10, Linea at House of Fraser, houseoffraser.co.uk

While last year was the year of turquoise, in 2011 it will be the turn of honeysuckle pink to shine. According to ­colour experts ­Pantone, it’s the colour of the year.

Qatar's winning streak: The 2022 World Cup has already kick-started the housing market in this Gulf State

Future: Qatar is transforming its landscape

My motivation? To sell up: GMTV's Mr Motivator, Derrick Evans, is scaling back his tourist operations on sunny Jamaica

New regime: Derrick Evans, also known as Mr Motivator, at his smart £1.5 million complex in the north of the island

One house, two banks: The property that sums up America's mortgage nightmare

Paperwork nightmare: Two banks are laying claim this house in Staten Island, according to a foreclosure filing

This detached suburban home on Staten Island in New York is at the centre of a bitter legal row between lenders Home123 Corporation and U.S. Bank.

Billy Joel's ex-wife makes $11.65m as she sells the luxury New York townhouse she received in divorce settlement

Profitable: Billy Joel's ex-wife Katie Lee has sold the luxurious New York townhouse she received in her divorce settlement for $11.65million - the singer had bought it for $5.9million in 2006

Katie Lee Joel split from the Piano Man in 2009 after five years of marriage. She sold the home for $11.65million which is nearly twice what the singer paid for it in 2006.

Luxury home where Ferris Bueller spent his day off goes up for sale for $1.65m

Ferris

The home, which belonged to Bueller's best friend Cameron in the iconic '80s film, is up for sale for $1.65 million.