FYLDE folk call it "Illuminations weather" -- but the recent gales and rain have surprised even the most weathered locals.

Seasonal storms have been battering the coast for several days, causing floods in Wrea Green and problems on Blackpool Prom.

Illuminations manager Richard Ryan said the recent storms had caused some slight difficulties.

"During the really bad weather the other day we had one pumpkin hanging down at the south end of the Prom, but it didn't actually fall down," he said.

"If bad weather is forecast a patrol is put on stand-by, just in case repairs are needed," he explained. "I hope I'm not speaking too soon, but so far we have had very little damage. We actually took more damage earlier in the season. A lot of it is to do with the direction of the wind. The Illuminations have held up extremely well and that's a credit to the team that put them up. "

The heavy rain also caused problems further inland. Fylde Borough councillor Jack Dobson, who lives at Wrea Green, said part of Brown's Lane, Wrea Green, flooded on Sunday night. "It's a bit prone to that," he said. "I think the Highways Department came out to it."

The windy weather has been keeping Blackpool beach patrols busy as well. "The wind has created quite a lot of problems with our public life-saving equipment," said chief beach patrol officer Terry Rogers.

"Together with the tides, it has actually been shaking some of the housings and the equipment has fallen out and it's meant that our patrols have been kept quite busy inspecting them."

The patrols have to check more than 100 pieces of life-saving equipment along the Prom, such as buoys and ropes, he explained.

But a slight improvement is forecast. A Meteorological Office spokesman said: "It has been rather windy with gusts at around 65 mph, and for the rest of this week it's going to be a mixed bag.

"As we move into the weekend we'll see cloud, a little bit of sun at times and not too much in the way of rain. By the afternoon on Sunday, there should see a bit more of the sun."