:00:09. > :00:14.A second night in emergency accommodation after a flooded river
:00:14. > :00:18.means a huge caravan park remains evacuated. Hello and welcome to
:00:18. > :00:22.Look East on another day dominated by the weather.
:00:22. > :00:26.It's been raining in this region for 30 consecutive days. The result,
:00:26. > :00:29.roads that are flooded, schools closed and swollen rivers.
:00:30. > :00:33.Also in tonight's programme, caught on camera. The jade raiders at the
:00:33. > :00:43.Fitzwilliam. And what happens now? The highs and
:00:43. > :00:53.
:00:53. > :01:00.Hello. First tonight, heavy rain has been causing rain across the
:01:00. > :01:04.region and the forecasters say After two winters of below average
:01:04. > :01:09.rainfall, we are of course still in drought. A reminder that these are
:01:09. > :01:13.the areas where a hosepipe ban is still in force. But after 30 days
:01:13. > :01:16.of consecutive rain, we have eight flood warnings in place, too. By
:01:16. > :01:19.far the most serious impact has been at Billing Aquadrome, a
:01:19. > :01:24.caravan site on the outskirts of Northampton. There, more than 1000
:01:24. > :01:27.people were told they had to leave Jo Black reports from a leisure
:01:27. > :01:32.centre nearby, where more than 100 people have been given emergency
:01:33. > :01:39.accommodation. Here we are in the sports hall,
:01:39. > :01:45.football she's or bat and Indians should be going on here. --
:01:45. > :01:50.football his or badminton games. Not tonight, because people I hear.
:01:50. > :01:56.Almost 100 people stay tonight for a second night. There is lots of
:01:56. > :02:03.Dunkirk spirit, but it is simple. People want to go home.
:02:03. > :02:09.Panic or precaution, 24 hours after evacuating Billing Aquadrome, the
:02:09. > :02:12.park remains closed. Environment Agency officials order went -- the
:02:12. > :02:16.Environment Agency ordered the bosses to get everyone off,
:02:16. > :02:22.displacing thousands, many spending the night at the local sports
:02:22. > :02:27.centre. I am hoping it has not flooded and we will go back to what
:02:27. > :02:34.we've had left. We are very lucky we have a pent up -- we are very
:02:34. > :02:39.lucky, we have a penthouse and we can look after next door's dog. We
:02:39. > :02:42.have bent over backwards, the staff and council. Whilst praise for the
:02:42. > :02:48.agencies helping out, many feel the air has been an information
:02:48. > :02:55.blackout. We have not seen any of the bosses, I went down this
:02:55. > :03:04.morning to find out at no one could tell me anything.
:03:04. > :03:11.And it was not quite the birth date this girl had been planned. There
:03:11. > :03:21.was a birthday card from the staff. And we got her a birthday cake. At
:03:21. > :03:22.
:03:22. > :03:30.breakfast, she was wish a happy birthday. She was quite surprised a.
:03:30. > :03:34.No one knows how long this will go on for. If it goes on, we hoped to
:03:34. > :03:38.find alternative accommodation. We cannot make people sleep on camp
:03:38. > :03:43.beds on a week, so we will look to rehouse them in bed and breakfasts
:03:43. > :03:47.and hotels. The irony about this is that Billing Aquadrome is not
:03:47. > :03:53.flooded, but the River Nene which runs alongside it is at risk of
:03:53. > :03:58.rising. Tonight, 90 people will sleep here again. A home from home
:03:58. > :04:03.it is not. Like I said and that report, we do
:04:03. > :04:09.not know how much longer this will go on for. You can see people are
:04:09. > :04:15.here, sitting around all day, some getting on with their neat in --
:04:15. > :04:21.netting. There has been a shout for fresh pizza, the Salvation Army are
:04:21. > :04:25.cooking a hot meal tonight. The next update will come from the
:04:25. > :04:30.park's managers and the Environment Agency tomorrow at ten o'clock.
:04:30. > :04:34.Thank you very much. It was not just Billing which has been
:04:34. > :04:37.affected by the flooding. We will have a round-up of the impact on
:04:37. > :04:40.the rest of the region later in the programme.
:04:40. > :04:43.Andy Wilkinson is with the Environment Agency. He joins us now
:04:43. > :04:53.from its offices in Kettering. Mr Wilkinson, first the situation at
:04:53. > :04:53.
:04:54. > :04:58.Billing Aquadrome. Was a panic or precaution? -- was it? Very much
:04:58. > :05:04.precaution. We took the decision yesterday afternoon that it was
:05:04. > :05:08.better to evacuate during daylight than risk at last -- risk a flood
:05:09. > :05:14.during the evening and have a Kuwait during the hours of darkness.
:05:14. > :05:20.It is difficult for those evacuated. Do you have any idea when people
:05:20. > :05:24.can return? The forecast is still for some rain. You can see it is
:05:25. > :05:30.still raining at the moment. We will review that in the morning
:05:30. > :05:35.with the police, fire and rescue, local authority and other partners,
:05:35. > :05:39.including the partners of Billing Aquadrome. We will review the
:05:39. > :05:44.following 24 hours and keep the communities and the people up to
:05:44. > :05:49.date with what is going on. There are other flood warnings in place
:05:49. > :05:54.across the region. Is this purely down to the volume of rain? There
:05:54. > :06:00.has been a lot. Has it also been affected by the fact there was dry
:06:00. > :06:04.ground before? You are right. We have had something like three times
:06:04. > :06:09.the amount of rain we would normally have for the whole month
:06:09. > :06:15.of April in a couple of days. That has landed on ground which, because
:06:15. > :06:19.of the drought conditions over the previous 18 months, was very hard,
:06:19. > :06:29.helping the rivers fill up quickly. What is your advice for people who
:06:29. > :06:31.
:06:31. > :06:36.may be in our region that could flat? -- flood. The key thing is to
:06:36. > :06:40.be saved, check the Environment Agency website, helpline, Facebook,
:06:40. > :06:48.Twitter. Keep up-to-date with what is going on in Yuri Anne and
:06:48. > :06:52.register for flood warnings. Thank you very much. -- what is going on
:06:52. > :06:54.in your region. Detectives investigating the theft
:06:54. > :06:57.of change treasures from the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge
:06:57. > :07:00.have just released fresh CCTV footage. It shows three of the gang
:07:00. > :07:03.involved in the raid in which items worth more than �18 million were
:07:03. > :07:11.taken. The case will be featured on the BBC's Crimewatch programme
:07:11. > :07:17.tonight on BBC One. One expert told us that he believes the items could
:07:17. > :07:20.still be in this country. Police are hoping the release of
:07:20. > :07:23.these new images captured on security cameras will help yield
:07:23. > :07:26.fresh clues. They show four men walking from Grove Lane to the rear
:07:26. > :07:29.of the museum at the time of the multi-million pound raid.
:07:29. > :07:32.Detectives say anyone who knows who they are should come forward. It's
:07:32. > :07:35.the latest development in the case, which is being watched closely by
:07:35. > :07:39.Dick Ellis. He lives in Suffolk and knows more than most what it takes
:07:39. > :07:43.to crack this kind of crime. In 1989, he set up the art squad at
:07:43. > :07:46.Scotland Yard and led it for ten years. So what does he make of the
:07:46. > :07:48.raid on the Fitzwilliam? I think we have seen a pattern. Whether it is
:07:48. > :07:53.the same group of criminals is difficult to tell. Those people are
:07:53. > :07:58.targeting Chinese jade and Chinese ceramics, because those have
:07:58. > :08:01.increased in value in the art market and criminals recognise that
:08:01. > :08:05.potentially there are rich pickings. Rich pickings stolen in just ten
:08:06. > :08:10.minutes. 18 items in total, including six pieces from the Ming
:08:10. > :08:14.dynasty. This was the van police believe the gang used. Dick Ellis
:08:14. > :08:16.now works as a director of what's called the Art Management Group.
:08:16. > :08:19.They run investigations usually on behalf of insurers and private
:08:19. > :08:22.clients. He says extensive publicity and police alerting
:08:22. > :08:29.dealers means the Fitzwilliam haul has already become extremely hot to
:08:29. > :08:35.handle. That suggests it could still be in this country for now.
:08:35. > :08:43.Some years ago, we recovered a lot to geed stolen in London. I
:08:43. > :08:49.recovered it in Switzerland. -- jade. It was going through the
:08:49. > :08:55.Swiss auction market. Capturing it is by showing internationally it
:08:55. > :09:01.has been stolen. What are the chances of catching the gang?
:09:01. > :09:05.chances are good. They have very easily identify all -- identifiable
:09:05. > :09:09.property. I believe the police can arrest them. A 25-strong police
:09:09. > :09:16.team is working on the case. Detectives are appealing for anyone
:09:16. > :09:18.who may have potential clues to come forward.
:09:18. > :09:22.A court in Cambridge has heard harrowing evidence about the
:09:22. > :09:25.moments leading up to the death of a five-year-old boy in Peterborough.
:09:25. > :09:28.Tyler Whelan died in March last year. His mother and her former
:09:28. > :09:34.boyfriend are standing trial. Mike Cartwright is in our Cambridge
:09:34. > :09:40.newsroom. You may find some of the details in this case disturbing.
:09:40. > :09:46.This is a picture of Tyler -- Tyler Whelan, who suffered a catalogue of
:09:46. > :09:53.abuse in the months leading up to his death. Today, the events began
:09:53. > :09:59.and the man on trial for the murder of Tyler took to the stand. He was
:09:59. > :10:06.in what was said to be a volatile relationship with Tyler's debt.
:10:06. > :10:13.Tyler was injured in a fall. -- F. There were plans to take into a
:10:13. > :10:17.doctor, but they did not. The man said he went looking for Tyler and
:10:17. > :10:22.found him crouching behind an armchair. I picked him up by his
:10:22. > :10:29.right arm, he said, I was really annoyed. He was asked what he did
:10:29. > :10:35.then. I grabbed his leg and build it up. He was asked what Tyler did.
:10:35. > :10:41.He tried to pull away. I tried to grab him, he was on all fours. He
:10:42. > :10:46.was asked what he did then. He said, I kicked him. I was angry at the
:10:46. > :10:54.time, his left side hit the door. I knew he was injured, because he was
:10:54. > :10:59.gasping. I did not mean to hurt him. Throughout all the evidence,
:10:59. > :11:04.Tyler's mother was crying. That got louder until she was led away. She
:11:05. > :11:11.is on trial following the death of a child. Tyler died after severe
:11:11. > :11:15.injuries to his head and abdomen. The two deny the charges and the
:11:15. > :11:19.Boy Friend for continue his evidence tomorrow.
:11:19. > :11:24.Thank you. Later in the programme, the ups and
:11:25. > :11:28.downs of Lotus over the years. And Alex has more on all that rain.
:11:28. > :11:31.Yes, after the second wettest April on record here in the East, I will
:11:31. > :11:41.be looking back at rainfall figures for the month. And looking ahead to
:11:41. > :11:43.
:11:43. > :11:46.what is coming next. The full The son of a man found murdered in
:11:46. > :11:50.a village near Cambridge has made another plea for information.
:11:50. > :11:53.Llewellyn Thomas, who was a retired farmer, was found dead at his home
:11:53. > :11:58.in Chittering in December last year. The case will feature on tonight's
:11:58. > :12:03.BBC Crimewatch. 76-year-old Llewelyn Thomas died
:12:03. > :12:08.from injuries to his face and head. Despite its high profile, the crime
:12:08. > :12:11.remains unsolved. It Is believed he had watched the final of Strictly
:12:11. > :12:19.Come Dancing on December 18th before answering the door to his
:12:19. > :12:22.killers. -- it is thought. The police, who are offering a �50,000
:12:22. > :12:24.reward for information, believe his property may have been targeted
:12:24. > :12:29.because of its mansion-like appearance. His son is also
:12:29. > :12:35.appealing for the public's help. They may have done it before. They
:12:35. > :12:42.may do it again. And if neither of those is true, then they just need
:12:42. > :12:46.to see what they have done to one gentle old boy. After four months,
:12:46. > :12:51.there is nothing to suggest that violent crime took here at -- took
:12:51. > :12:56.place here at all. But locals are still very much aware of that
:12:56. > :13:00.December evening. Elements of feeling insecure, because it seems
:13:00. > :13:05.to be a botched burglary, apparently. So where will they
:13:05. > :13:11.break into next time? It tends to go into the background, then comes
:13:11. > :13:17.back. Today, there are memories of it with you coming back. He was
:13:18. > :13:22.such a nice man. The attackers made off in a silver Rover 75 estate. It
:13:22. > :13:25.was stolen from the drive. The police are still keen to hear about
:13:25. > :13:32.the movements of this vehicle before it was later found abandoned
:13:32. > :13:35.here in nearby Milton. And Crimewatch is tonight on BBC One at
:13:35. > :13:38.9 o'clock. Two men from Wisbech have been
:13:38. > :13:41.arrested in connection with the murder of a young woman, whose body
:13:41. > :13:47.was found on the Sandringham Estate. The remains of Alisa Dmitrijeva
:13:47. > :13:50.were found by a dog walker in a copse at Anmer on New Year's Day.
:13:50. > :13:53.A jury has been told that a man accused of killing his ex-partner
:13:53. > :13:57.and their daughter in Braintree sent hundreds of text messages to
:13:57. > :14:04.her in the weeks before the deaths. David Oakes denies murdering
:14:04. > :14:07.Chrissie Chambers and two-year-old Shania in June last year.
:14:07. > :14:09.The owner of a seal rescue centre has gone on trial accused of
:14:09. > :14:12.mistreating animals in his care. 85-year-old Harold Nickerson ran
:14:12. > :14:21.the hospital at Winterton on the Norfolk coast for more than 15
:14:21. > :14:24.years. He was charged after two visits from the RSPCA. Nikki Fox
:14:24. > :14:29.was at Great Yarmouth Magistrates Court and is in our newsroom now.
:14:29. > :14:34.Mr Nickerson is charged with causing unnecessary suffering to
:14:34. > :14:39.three seals and keeping five seals in an unsuitable environment. He
:14:39. > :14:44.and volunteers ran a hospital for more than 15 years, covering around
:14:44. > :14:49.100 miles of the Norfolk and Suffolk coast line between them. As
:14:49. > :14:55.you can see from footage from 1995, it is quite small that relies
:14:55. > :15:02.entirely on donations. According to its website, it has now closed.
:15:02. > :15:08.What was said in court today? a vet and RSPCA officers gave
:15:08. > :15:14.evidence, finding out-of-date medicines. One had an expiry date
:15:14. > :15:22.of March 2005 and was intended to treat cattle. Seals lived in what
:15:22. > :15:28.The described as dirty and stagnant. -- live in water. And there was a
:15:28. > :15:33.scale of the animals, one being the worst, some were graded as either
:15:33. > :15:38.one or 1.5. There were also concerned the seals did not have
:15:38. > :15:44.space to get out of the water, which won a veterinary surgeon said
:15:44. > :15:49.could cause hypothermia. I know Mr Nickerson denies the charges. What
:15:49. > :15:54.did the defence say? The defence said the conditions were no worse
:15:54. > :15:57.than at a commercial farm, saying it was small and should not be
:15:57. > :16:03.compared to big commercial rescue centres like this Sea Life Centre,
:16:03. > :16:07.which has more funding. Mr Nickerson's solaces they described
:16:07. > :16:13.it as a piece of midden -- solicitors described it as a piece
:16:13. > :16:16.of Middle England rescuing animals. The trial continues for two days.
:16:16. > :16:20.Detectives working on a cold case review are appealing to former crew
:16:20. > :16:23.members of a Lowestoft trawler to get in touch. In 1981, the Boston
:16:23. > :16:26.Sea Stallion reported recovering a body from the North Sea. The police
:16:26. > :16:29.believe it may have been that of a person who went missing in Norfolk
:16:29. > :16:34.earlier that year. The first selection of 100 records
:16:34. > :16:37.from John Peel's collection have been published online. The Radio 1
:16:37. > :16:40.DJ from Suffolk died eight years ago, leaving a library of tens of
:16:40. > :16:45.thousands of albums and singles. Rail passengers have faced severe
:16:46. > :16:48.disruption today because of a strike by drivers. East Midlands
:16:48. > :16:52.Trains, part of Stagecoach, run services from Norwich through Ely
:16:52. > :16:55.to Peterborough and the North West. There were no East Midland trains
:16:55. > :17:00.running from Norwich today after 90% of its drivers stopped working.
:17:00. > :17:07.It was in protest about changes to their pensions. Some passengers
:17:07. > :17:10.were able to use that the services. The drivers a striking because
:17:10. > :17:15.Stagecoach want West to be paid into pension funds. The company
:17:15. > :17:20.will also contribute less. Stagecoach said an independent
:17:20. > :17:27.valuer said this will have no impact on final benefits. But the
:17:27. > :17:30.union, ASLEF, disagrees. company will save around they point
:17:30. > :17:36.to �0.1 million at the end of the franchise. The impact for the
:17:36. > :17:41.membership will be that, going forward, the pension scheme may
:17:41. > :17:46.very well find itself in deficit. - - the company will save over �2
:17:46. > :17:51.million. The train company insists the pension review was carried out
:17:51. > :17:55.independently. This is an evaluation on the pension section,
:17:55. > :17:59.so we have to go in line with advice, whether that means
:17:59. > :18:01.increasing or reducing contributions. Another strike is
:18:01. > :18:11.planned for Thursday, with further disruption scheduled for dates
:18:11. > :18:20.
:18:20. > :18:25.There is still no word on whether the new owner of Lotus intends to
:18:25. > :18:30.sell the company. Current owners DRB-Hicom is considering whether to
:18:30. > :18:34.dispose of the car maker, which employs 1200 people in Norfolk.
:18:34. > :18:38.This is not the first time Lotus has been in trouble. It has often
:18:38. > :18:43.been a roller-coaster ride for employees. Richard Bond has been
:18:43. > :18:48.looking back. You expect thrills and spills with
:18:48. > :18:54.a sports car company. When it comes to its own history, Lotus has never
:18:54. > :18:58.disappointed. The early days were bathed in glory, with Grand Prix
:18:58. > :19:04.success for its founder and growing demand for sports cars for the Open
:19:04. > :19:08.road built in Norfolk. But money was always tight. The company
:19:08. > :19:13.mainly catered for the enthusiast rather than the mass market. Motor
:19:13. > :19:18.is always reminds me of a football club, glamourous, praised his dues
:19:18. > :19:24.to owned but hardly ever making money. -- prestigious to own. There
:19:24. > :19:30.has been many owners, all funding losses, but failing to provide much
:19:30. > :19:33.management stability. One man has watched the company for many years.
:19:33. > :19:37.The Chief Executive's office for a while was once said to have a
:19:37. > :19:42.revolving door with the new one dare each time you went. It has had
:19:42. > :19:46.too many owners not giving it direction, too little stability,
:19:46. > :19:50.against which the operation can function properly. The current
:19:50. > :19:56.Chief Executive has a plan to turn Lotus around with a range of new
:19:56. > :20:04.models. But it is still unclear whether its new owner, DRB-Hicom,
:20:04. > :20:09.will keep the company or sell it on. Porsche sold 100 times more cars in
:20:09. > :20:13.the UK than Lotus and selling them for more money. Notice needs an
:20:13. > :20:19.owner who believes in the brand, believes in the amazing
:20:19. > :20:25.competencies and actually wall say, over ten years, we will take this
:20:25. > :20:29.company to beat Bentley, Ferrari, but it needs money. It will
:20:29. > :20:34.probably be weeks before lotus knows what the future will be and
:20:34. > :20:40.whether its owner has enough money to put it in the fast lane. --
:20:41. > :20:44.Lotus. Back now to our lead story and the
:20:44. > :20:47.impact of flooding across the region. We have already heard how
:20:47. > :20:52.more than a thousand people had to leave a caravan park near
:20:52. > :20:57.Northampton. Across the region, drives -- drivers faced problems
:20:57. > :21:01.and one school had to close. Colchester this morning, Essex
:21:01. > :21:08.Police and urging drivers to slow down and used it headlines to be
:21:08. > :21:11.seen. -- dipped headlights to be seen in the service sprayed. Across
:21:11. > :21:14.the county, police said they had dealt with more than 30 weather-
:21:14. > :21:17.related incidents. This was the Mersea Road at Peldon. Some drivers
:21:17. > :21:20.found themselves marooned in deep water on minor roads and country
:21:20. > :21:23.lanes. In Chelmsford, children from Melbourne Park Primary and Nursery
:21:23. > :21:27.had the day off thanks to a leaking roof. In the Cambridgeshire Fens,
:21:27. > :21:30.the scene at Nepal. Hundreds of acres of flood plain, often used to
:21:30. > :21:35.graze cattle, under deep water today. Rivers and drainage channels
:21:35. > :21:39.running high. At St Ives, a solitary car was left in the
:21:39. > :21:44.submerged car park of the Dolphin Hotel. Unfortunately, we have a
:21:44. > :21:50.vehicle that has not heeded the warning about the car park being
:21:50. > :21:54.closed. The owner paddled into the water and was on his way moments
:21:54. > :21:56.later. A boating festival planned for this weekend at Becket's Park,
:21:56. > :22:02.Northampton, has been postponed for safety reasons due to too much
:22:02. > :22:06.water. The river has been flooding for a few days, we have done red
:22:06. > :22:10.flag indicating the Environment Agency has advised that is not safe
:22:10. > :22:17.to travel on the river. A lot of people were coming up the river,
:22:17. > :22:24.including myself, having to cancel because it is far too dangerous.
:22:24. > :22:31.One nature reserve was open, but affected. It is having an effect on
:22:31. > :22:36.visitors to see the forecast Anne's choose to stay away. -- see the
:22:36. > :22:40.forecast and people choose to stay awake. But we're still open. There
:22:40. > :22:45.is a great indoor area. I have been in the office seen people coming in
:22:45. > :22:52.with children. I have a match and then being desperate to come out
:22:52. > :22:55.somewhere. You have been sending us your pictures. Hardwater Crossing
:22:55. > :22:59.at Wollaston, Northamptonshire. The Cosgrove Holiday Park. 250 caravans
:22:59. > :23:06.were moved off site on Saturday. The local recreation ground at
:23:06. > :23:13.Olney in Buckinghamshire. A runaway barge ripped from its moorings at
:23:13. > :23:18.Roxton. And a bowling club at Clacton. And Avenue Road in with
:23:18. > :23:23.them. In Bedfordshire, high up river levels have led to the
:23:23. > :23:28.closure of some roads and bridges. The showers have gradually faded,
:23:28. > :23:33.but the wettest drought on record looks set to go on.
:23:33. > :23:37.Thank you to everybody who send in photographs. If you film anything
:23:37. > :23:42.you think could be newsworthy, we would love to hear from you. The
:23:42. > :23:44.phone number is 08457 630 630. And our e-mail address is
:23:44. > :23:50.look.east@bbc.co.uk. Of course, there is Facebook and Twitter as
:23:50. > :23:59.well. She always does a good phone number.
:23:59. > :24:06.This was the second wettest April on record what double average
:24:06. > :24:14.rainfall for many. If we look at the league table, the stamp the six
:24:14. > :24:19.wettest locations. -- these are. The averages 45 millimetres of
:24:19. > :24:25.April. Many get well over double. It looks like that wet weather will
:24:25. > :24:31.continue. One more statistic from April. Santon Downham recorded both
:24:31. > :24:39.the highest temperature yesterday and also the coldest location on
:24:39. > :24:45.6th April. The unsettled weather continues. Driven by low pressure.
:24:45. > :24:51.A weather front has moved northwards today. You can see where
:24:51. > :24:55.the rainfall fell. It clear it quickly, but some hefty showers
:24:55. > :25:01.formed in this area. Those are still affecting parts of southern
:25:01. > :25:05.Cambridgeshire and Essex. Those have produced some thunder.
:25:05. > :25:14.Foremost, a dry and cloudy night with mist patches forming overnight.
:25:14. > :25:19.It will stay pretty mild. Overall, low temperatures expected of 7
:25:19. > :25:24.Celsius in a light north-westerly. Tomorrow, low pressure still the
:25:24. > :25:29.name of the game. We have a weather front that lingers through the day.
:25:29. > :25:34.When it moves southwards, bringing ahead the pulse of rain, but not
:25:34. > :25:39.until overnight tomorrow night. For much of tomorrow, cloudy with the
:25:39. > :25:44.chance of patchy, light rain, some places getting away with a dry
:25:44. > :25:49.morning. In drier spots, temperatures climbing took their
:25:49. > :25:54.teens. If you get some sunshine, it might be even higher. Winds will
:25:54. > :25:58.pick up through the day, more of a moderate northerly breeze and the
:25:58. > :26:02.chance of patchy rain through tomorrow afternoon. It is over
:26:02. > :26:08.night that it becomes more heavy and persistent, quite widespread
:26:08. > :26:14.across the region, lingering in to Thursday. A damp start to Thursday.