MONDAY night's storm produced a record-breaking downpour in the Andover area, according to Hurstbourne Tarrant weatherman Trevor Wheeler.

He recorded 2.53 inches (64.4mm) of rain falling overnight, beating the previous record of 2.18 inches (55.6mm) set in June 1971.

Although October 2000 has been much wetter than the long-term average, Andover has escaped relatively lightly.

According to figures released by the Environment Agency, Andover has been the driest place in the whole of the south east region during October. This month the rain gauge in Andover collected just under 5.25 inches of rain (132.6mm) which is 187 per cent of the long-term October average.

But spare a thought for those who live in Sussex where some places have seen three and a half times their usual rainfall. Plumpton in East Sussex has had 13.5 inches of rain (343mm).