RAIN stopped play at an outdoor concert today after the event had to be cancelled because of the bad Bank Holiday weather.

The Summer Youth Band were due to play at Cripplegate Park, St John's, Worcester, but when musicians arrived they discovered the relentless rain had put people off and nobody had turned up to listen to them.

The decision was quickly made to abandon the performance organised by Worcester City Council as part of a series of summer concerts in Gheluvelt Park, Cripplegate Park and the Quayhead Fountain.

A teddy bear's picnic planned by a Worcester pub yesterday also had to be called off because of the weather.

Staff at the Timberdine Harvester, on the Bath Road, decided their plans for youngsters to search for lost teddies in the garden was not likely to draw much interest.

However, deputy manager Emma Challoner said raffle tickets would be offered until the middle of this week and all money raised donated to the children's charity Make-A-Wish Foundation.

One event that will not be cancelled whatever the weather is tomorrow's stock car and banger racing at Grimley Raceway.

Promoter Alan Lewis said: "We are definitely on. We never cancel.

"We carry on regardless because it's a tarmaced circuit so the racing is always as good."

He added that inbetween races, a piano smashing event would be held to raise money for the Madeleine McCann fund.

Two teams will compete to smash up a piano each and pass the debris through a steel frame with spectators asked to donate cash to the fund which was set up to look for the toddler who went missing in Portugal more than three weeks ago.

Other events due to take place tomorrow are The Vale Asparagus Festival at the Fleece, Bretferton, between 10am and 3pm and Droitwich Sport For All at the King George Playing fields, Droitwich Leisure Centre from noon.