WET weather has disrupted a host of plans across the Dorset today.

As the rain lashed down over the county, the team behind Swanage Carnival announced that the start time for the huge annual parade through the streets of the town and along the seafront has been put back to 4pm due to the weather conditions.

Linda Welsh, one of the organisers, said the event was being delayed by an hour to allow people extra time to prepare for the event, which sees thousands of people turn out onto the streets to see a colourful parade of floats.

A classic car show which was due to be held at Upton Country Park today was called off at 11am after the organisers arrived earlier this morning and as the rain came down, they experienced ‘deteriorating ground conditions.’

John Gully from Classics in the Park, said: “The club members turned up and we did actually complete our set-up with gazebos and St John Ambulance stand. Unfortunately, by then we were soaked and we received a number of phone calls saying that they weren’t coming.

“Sadly we have had to pull it and we are now talking to the people at Upton House to see if we can rearrange.”

Muscliff Fun Day, now in its eighth year, which was due to take place today, has been postponed until Sunday, August 30, due to the heavy rain forecast.

The event is set to feature stalls, rides and live music.

South West Trains have tweeted to say that a fallen tree is currently blocking the track at Lymington Town station, which is affecting services to Lymington Pier and on to Brockenhurst.

OnStage at Pier Approach, organised by Bournemouth Council, which features a host of live music and free-entry entertainment for families, has been cancelled for today.

The events scheduled for today were The James Stead Band from 3pm to 5pm and Davy Jones Locker from 8pm to 10.30pm.