Rainy June blues for North Antrim residents

Persistent rain caused rivers and streams to overflow presenting major problems for motorists many of whom suffered mechanical failures after going through water-logged fields.

At Armoy, picnic tables and a litter bin in the Park were almost submerged and locals said they had seldom seen the River Bush as high.

At Dervock, the Fire Service were called out to the Conagher Road, Dervock, on a rescue mission believed to involve a motorist who became stranded in the water and, in a separate incident, cattle in the same area had to be moved because of flooding in a field.

In Stranocum, a partly built bonfire was swept away by the raging current of the Bush leaving the organisers with more work to do to restore the large piles of wood.

Outdoor events such as sports days and other recreational plans were scuppered as most people were forced to stay inside.

There were no reports of major flooding to homes and the only hindrance was caused to those whose work took them outside.

Turf cutters were bemoaning the heavy rainfall as their stocks of peat will have become wetter and more difficult to dry, mirroring the exact same problem as last year with moss areas virtually non-workable.

And farmers were also reflecting on another period of weather which did them no favours.

The forecast doesn’t look good for the next 30 days with no wall-to-wall sunshine predicted.

However, one local claimed that the Twelfth of July week was going to be good and that September was also going to be warm and sunny.

No one is holding their breath!