IT was certainly the weather for ducks -- but not the public! -- when Forever Bury staged its main fundraiser of the year over the Bank Holiday Weekend.

For Bury FC's supporters trust had to delay Sunday's third annual duck race for 30 minutes after the heavens opened.

The event, staged at Burrs Country Park, was to have featured 1,500 ducks of the plastic variety racing along the River Irwell.

But as Forever Bury chairman Jeremy Clegg said: "Because the river was more like a whitewater rapid due to the heavy rain, we launched the ducks on the canal feeder."

First duck past the finishing post won its owner £500 with two tickets for Starkies Restaurant for the second and third-placed ducks. Entrants had paid £2 to have the plastic models take part in the race.

Later, Forever Bury staged a balloon race with hundreds soaring skywards. There will be prizes for the owners whose balloons travel the furthest.

Other activities included a beat-the-goalie competition and a barbecue. The heavy rain later gave way to brighter weather.