Mr T. Pollard of Lane End, Sabden, is confronted by the tree which blocked Trapp Lane on Saturday.

The weekend weather washed out many people's holiday plans, storms blew down trees and damaged property, but the drought is still on. The North-West Water Authority say that the weekend's rain will make only a minimal difference to the situation and people should continue making every possible saving. The problems of many holidaymakers were eased by the postponing of the threatened seamen's strike, but their plans were dampened by the driving rain and strong winds which have brought to an end the long, dry summer. Standpipes have already been put up in the Pendle and Rossendale areas, and could be appearing on the streets of Burnley within three weeks. The authority is still waiting for confirmation from the Secretary of State for an order banning all non-essential uses of water.

The gusting winds at the weekend brought down a large tree in Simonstone, blocking Trapp Lane for a short time on Saturday morning. The fall caused buses on the Burnley-Sabden route to be diverted along Sabden Road, but no delays were caused, said a spokesman for Ribble Motor Services. Another tree that was brought down by the wind fell across the concourse by the shops at Trafalgar flats during Saturday night. No one was injured and no damage was caused. Large hoardings by the Mitre crossroads were also wrecked in the storm.