IT could have been the middle of winter - shoppers in raincoats and under umbrellas, seeking refuge from the torrential rain.

But this was mid-summer in Bolton on Friday.

Drivers on roads throughout the town braved the water hazards as mini floods emerged on several roads and junctions.

Many office and shop workers chose to stay indoors rather than venture out into the downpour.

August - normally one of the warmest months of the year - has seen the town drenched by torrential rain and far fewer hours of sunshine.

With ten days of the month remaining, 4.72 inches of rain have already fallen, making this one of Bolton's wettest Augusts on record.

Last year, the first 20 days of August only produced 0.25 inches of rain.

The weather this week forced the cancellation of the Bolton Show and there were fears that many cricket matches would also be called off today.

Figures reveal that so far this month, there has been only 108.7 hours of sunshine, compared to 156 hours last year.

A mixed weekend of showers was forecast and sunshine is likely to give way to downpours that could make driving hazardous.

Weather experts predicted that tomorrow would be the gloomiest day with flooding expected in some parts of the country.

And more bad news was today rolling across the Atlantic in the form of Hurricane Danielle, which has already ravaged Florida . . . and is now heading for Britain.

A Press Association Weather Centre spokesman said: "Monday will bring showers and longer spells of rain and it will be quite windy across the country. On Tuesday and Wednesday, there will be some sunshine but also clouds and rain. At the end of next week it, may turn drier for a bit but it generally looks like staying unsettled."