Northumberland Plate | Newcastle cut short and abandoned

Northumberland Plate | Newcastle cut short and abandoned. Officials at Newcastle were left surprised as a large storm led to the curtailment of the primary afternoon of the three-day Northumberland Plate meeting and made the abandonment of Friday evening's card.

Clerk of the course James Armstrong said an assessment are going to be created Friday of the prospects for John Smith's-sponsored Plate day on Saturday, though a press release posted on the track's Facebook page read: "An inspection can happen on Saturday morning before the Northumberland Plate Raceday.

"No vital rainfall is forecast over ensuing 2 days and that we do everything doable to confirm that racing can go ahead as planned on Saturday."

The course had earlier passed an inspection at midday when rain had turned conditions to serious, and 4 races were completed, however the runners for the fifth race were ordered to come back to the parade ring as torrential rain and lightning hit, with a call then taken to abandon.

With the parade ring among different things drenched in water, and leaks within the stewards' area, weighing area and jockeys' changing area, Armstrong spoke of the necessity to "regroup" and said: "We've had over an in. of rain in twenty minutes. The stands are not safe, it had been an electrical storm and that we solely required a shower to tip us over the sting.

"It was ridiculous to stay them down at the beginning for the fifth therefore we have a tendency to known as them back and it had been a straightforward call to decision it off.

"We've got major infrastructure problems off from the track. It's additional an infrastructure issue currently instead of the track, there is water returning in everywhere.

"We've got individuals out walking the track and there is a foot of water in some places."

Shortly afterwards, the announcement was created that the favored Friday fixture, because of feature the Hoppings Stakes and Gosforth Park Sprint Cup, would be lost.

Plate afternoon is Newcastle's biggest of the season on the Flat, and Armstrong said: "We can take stock of what has been happening and see tomorrow as regards what happens for Saturday.

"We can need to have a glance at some purpose tomorrow on what we are going to do on Saturday.

"There are a mess of things we'd like to assess.

"We simply have to be compelled to regroup and see what is going on on tomorrow."

The setting Agency tweeted a photograph of the flooded road outside their Newcastle workplace, that is near the Tyne.

Twitter-user Lyndsey Beckwith tweeted a photograph of cars struggling through the water along the Quayside in Newcastle, with the caption "This issue is biblical #megastorm".

Flooding forced Newcastle railway station to shut and severe issues on the Tyne and Wear Metro service.

The huge Hoppings truthful in Newcastle was closed - having already had its gap postponed from Friday to Sunday - thanks to the weather.

Dramatic footage of water doping up into the air when a manhole cowl came off in Dean Street, Newcastle, was posted on Facebook.

Newcastle town Council said it might use the hashtag #toonflood on its messages regarding how the storm was affecting the world.