Torrential rain hits popular Driffield Steam and Vintage rally - see this week’s Driffield Times and Post for two pages of photos

Hundreds of determined visitors attended Driffield Showground on Saturday and Sunday to marvel at the magnificent range of locomotives and steam engines.

Disappointingly the event was forced to close at 2pm on Sunday due to ‘torrential’ downpours and strong winds leaving the showground partially flooded.

However the rally was still able to raise £2,500 for Cancer Research UK and other charities - only £200 shy of last year’s takings.

The annual event has raised thousands of pounds for local charities, including Yorkshire Cancer Research, Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the Driffield Old Folks’ Tea.

Event coordinator, Phil Rounce, said: “A lot of people came to the show on Saturday which we were pleased to see.

“The road run was a real success, and we managed to get more vehicles into the town centre than ever before - although we did have some difficulty trying to get pedestrians out of the way to park the vehicles though.”

“But it was an all-round great day, there really is something for everyone - I can’t think of any other event like it”. ”.

However organisers decided to close the event early on Sunday due to a shortage of attendees who were put off by the bleak forecast.

Phil added: “Some brave people did come and we were grateful for that, but you can’t blame those who didn’t want to come because the weather was terrible.”

In addition to the usual fairground, this year’s rally saw around 40 full-size engines take the spotlight, ranging from the expensive and highly polished Showman’s engines, to the smaller plough, tractor and lorry engines.

To mark the 25th anniversary of the steam rally, a spectacular fireworks display was held on the Saturday night and was so well received that organisers may consider it again for next year’s rally.