TRADERS in Felixstowe and Ipswich are keeping their fingers crossed for better weather for this bank holiday weekend – with a bumper batch of events taking place.

Torrential downpours on Wednesday night resulted in flooding in many parts of the county – with some areas suffering from 40-60mm of rain – as much as some places usually experience in a month.

However with a whole host of events planned for the weekend, organisers are hoping the rain will hold off.

According to weather forecasters, the start of the weekend should be bright but very cold, with a small chance of showers and the strong possibility of frost on Saturday or Sunday night. Monday is still uncertain – but the chances are high that the rain will return in the afternoon.

With East Suffolk suffering the wettest weather in the country in the last few days, pictures have been flooding in to our news sharing website iwitness24.co.uk capturing waterlogged roads and overflowing rivers across the region.

Among the happy snappers was semi-retired administrator Alan Baldry from Barham who took some photos of the flooded picnic area at Needham Lake. As a regular visitor to the lake, he said the last time he’d seen the flooding this bad was in February 2009.

This weekend’s events include the May Day Fun Day and Street Fair in Felixstowe on Saturday, the annual Ipswich-Felixstowe Historic Vehicle Run on Sunday, a 5km fun run in Kesgrave in aid of St Elizabeth Hospice and the Rotary Fun Run in Felixstowe on Monday.

Jim Bacon, managing director of Weatherquest, said: “It’s not going to be a warm bank holiday weekend.

“I wouldn’t paint too bleak a picture just yet for Monday. But the weather’s not going to settle down anytime soon.”

Despite the constant downpour, there is still no end in sight for the hosepipe ban and keen gardeners also have a threat of frost to contend with over the weekend.

Mayor of Felixstowe Doreen Savage added: “We are keeping fingers crossed for good weather this weekend because there are so many big events taking place, so it can be enjoyed by the traders, residents and, of course, the visitors.”

? Send us your photos and videos of the big weekend of events – upload them at iwitness24.co.uk