FLIPPING heck!

An annual pancake racing contest had to be abandoned for the first time in its history after competitors and spectators were battered by hailstones.

Organisers were only halfway through a series of races at Beaulieu yesterday when the weather intervened, leaving the atmosphere as flat as the pancakes themselves.

The competition takes place in the High Street every year and is one of the biggest events in the area.

Races involving children from the village school had already taken place and the novelty events for adults were about to start when the hail arrived and gave everyone a soaking.

Pupils were sent scurrying back to their classrooms as spectators reached for their umbrellas or sought shelter in village cafes.

One would-be competitor ran across the High Street shouting “Snow at last”. But others were left disappointed at not being able to take part - including a group of women dressed as Beaulieu Abbey monks.

It was the first time the event had fallen victim to bad weather since it was first held about 12 years ago.

The competition began in bright sunshine but as the skies started to darken the programme was speeded up in a bid to complete all the races before the downpour began.

Beaulieu head teacher Katherine Jones said: “The children did extremely well and had a great deal of fun.

“We tried to finish the event as fast as we could but when the hailstones started falling and we decided to call it a day and get the pupils indoors.

“All the children’s races had been run and we were just about to tell the adult contestants what they had to do when the heavens opened.”

The races were the first to be held since the previous Lord Montagu - Edward, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu - died last year aged 88.

They were watched by the new Lord Montagu, the late peer’s 54-year-old son Ralph.

Edward Montagu’s first wife, Belinda, Lady Montagu, and the couple’s daughter, the Hon Mary Montagu-Scott, were also among the large crowd.