A FAMILY fun day which was due to take place at Redcar Racecourse last Sunday had to be cancelled due to wet weather.

An estimated 9,000 people were expected to attend the event, which is sponsored by The East Cleveland Advertiser and our sister paper, The Northern Echo.

Racecourse manager John Gundill said the track was heavily waterlogged so races would have been unable to take place.

Anyone who bought tickets should contact the racecourse on (01642) 484068 or write to Redcar Racecourse Ltd, The Racecourse, Redcar TS10 2BY.

Meanwhile, organisers of the Kirkleatham Rally say this year's event was a definite success despite a soggy start.

The event, held in the grounds of Kirkleatham Hall Museum in Redcar on Saturday and Sunday, played host to classic cars, gigantic tractors, steam traction engines and even a parliament of owls.

On Saturday morning, heavy rain had looked likely to put paid to the whole show.

Organiser Phil Philo said on Sunday: "Saturday morning was atrocious. The weather was awful and we had major problems with water-logging, not just with the site but with the car parking field.

"But we managed to get everything sorted and today we have been very busy - we must have gone over the 1,000 mark and we couldn't ask for a better audience."

As well as viewing the vehicles on show, visitors could enjoy heavy horse rides, a trip in a double-decker bus used in the Heartbeat series and a browse around 28 different crafts stalls.