Floods are wreaking havoc in the country, with the latest casualty being the Isle of Wight Festival in Newport which was badly hit by rains yesterday, creating a traffic deadlock and causing great inconvenience to the people visiting Seaclose Park.

The rock enthusiasts had no other choice but to sleep inside their vehicles because of heavy traffic on the street and police had to escort some of them to Newport Football Club where they received food and refreshments, reported local sources.

The long queues caused disruption of ferry services as the boats could not be lowered down due to traffic congestion on the island. Heavy rains turned the fest site into a muddy swamp, sources informed.

“The two things I’m really annoyed about is this weather has been going on for weeks, so why were they not prepared for it? Second we weren’t told the full story in Portsmouth and could have turned back if we had known we would be in the car all night”, said Linda Dawson, who was stuck in the traffic since 18:00 BST with her partner and three daughters.

“If you are on the mainland we are advising people not to travel by car”, a spokesperson of the Isle of Wight Festival said, adding, ”There is a ferry service for foot passengers and this will be the easiest route. We are sorry for any disruptions caused.”

There is more bad news for the people living in the north-west with weather office forecasting heavy downpours in the region - up to 100mm. Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Lancashire are expected to be drenched with 50-60mm in the next few days.

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