When Taunton Flower Show was called off just before the start

Everything was set up and the judges had done the rounds in the marquees the previous evening.

But several thousand people looking forward to the event were bitterly disappointed when organisers pulled the plug just hours before the gates were due to open.

The reason for the cancellation of Taunton Flower Show 1997 was a torrential downpour of rain overnight that left Vivary Park under several inches of water.

Instead of welcoming crowds to one of the highlight events in the town's calendar, the committee instead mounted a rescue operation.

Donning wellies and waterproofs, and commandeering wheelbarrows, they moved whatever they could out of the park.

The district council's exhibition was transferred to the former Old Market Centre, now renamed the Orchard Centre.

It was the first time in the show's 131 year history that the weather had halted the show.

The cancellation caused national headlines and images of the waterlogged Vivary Park even appeared on the television news in Spain.