It's the wettest April on record

As the rain arrived right on bank holiday schedule in many parts of the country yesterday, the Met Office revealed it has been the wettest April on record.

At Silverstone, where the Grand Prix has been moved from its traditional mid-July date, the practice session descended into farce when a Land Rover that went to haul David Coulthard's McLaren Mercedes off the track after it developed a mechanical problem, got stuck in sodden grass.

Coulthard, his overalls soaked by rain, eventually had to help marshals push his McLaren back onto the circuit and a tow-truck took it back to the garage.

With more rain forecast, officials at the track said all the public car parks will be closed today to all vehicles except coaches. Heavy rain during the buildup to the race has lead to flooding and staff need time to repair the car parks before the main event tomorrow.

The Met Office said the weather would remain unsettled and there was no sign of summer arriving just yet. "It's going to be the wettest April for at least 50 years which is when the records began," said a spokesman. "Southampton has already had 137mm, which is three times the average for the whole of the month, and the areas around Leicester and Lincoln have also been wet. And there's more to come."

An area of low pressure is moving across Portugal and is expected to arrive just in time for the rest of the bank holiday weekend, although the eastern side of the country should be reasonably dry and bright on Sunday. "It has been very wet, but in the last few days the temperatures have been above normal," the spokesman said.

"It has been a cold month, and, of course, there was snow at the start, but it has been around 16 degrees in several parts of the country instead of the average 12 degrees. Scotland and Northern Ireland have had less rain than usual."

The Environment Agency yesterday urged people to take precautions against the possibility of flooding following the heavy rainfall and predictions of more wet weather.

No red flood warnings have been issued but there are amber warnings in Dorset and in Stafford. A further 36 yellow warnings were in force in southern and central counties compared with 46 on Thursday. The agency is on 24-hour alert.