The North West Vintage Rally due to be staged in Widnes this weekend has been cancelled because the site on Victoria Park is severely saturated.

Halton Council made the difficult decision following an emergency site meeting at lunchtime yesterday, Tuesday.

It is only the second time in 18 years that this show, Britain’s biggest free two-day event of its kind, has been called off.

Even if the weather was to stay fair between now and the weekend the damage has already been done and the ground cannot recover sufficiently to take the heavy vehicle loads that visit the event.

However more significant rain is forecast tonight,m Wednesday, and throughout tomorrow.

Halton Cllr Eddie Jones, board member for visitor economy, said: “It has been a difficult decision, which we took very reluctantly.

"We know that many people will be disappointed. Like them, myself and the team who work extremely hard to organise the event are devastated.

“However given the condition of the park and the weather forecast we were really left with no option but to cancel the event."

This was a joint decision made between the council’s parks management, events team and Halton events safety advisory group.

Cllr Jones added: "We hope it will be back to the usual fun packed family weekend next year that people from Halton and all over the north west can enjoy."