UK soaked by bank holiday deluge

It is the second bank holiday weekend in a row plagued by downpours - May Bank Holiday also proved disappointing for sun worshippers.

For the second time this month, wet long weekends have followed dry and warm snaps.

A forecaster for MeteoGroup UK, the weather division of the Press Association, said this bank holiday was one of the wettest across central and southern England - "certainly in recent years anyway".

The most water-soaked place overnight was St Catherine's Point on the Isle of Wight where 52mm of rain poured down over a 12-hour period between 6pm and 6am.

Liscombe in Somerset was drenched in 31mm of rain overnight, and many other places saw around 25mm, the forecaster said.

Temperatures on Monday will generally be chilly - between 8-9C (46.4F-48.2F) in central and eastern areas of England, which will suffer more heavy outbreaks of rain, and 10-13C (50F-55.4F) elsewhere.

The forecaster added: "The best of any sunshine will be far west - south west England, west Wales, west Scotland and much of Northern Ireland."

Monday's conditions are more inclement than last year's bank holiday, which saw temperatures up to a sunny 17C (62.6F) and the highest rainfall reach 11mm, according to MeteoGroup.

Cricket fans were dismayed after the second Test between England and West Indies at Headingley was put off by Sunday's relentless drizzle.