HALF a month's worth of rain has fallen in the region in 48 hours, causing disruption to businesses and travellers.

Redcar Racecourse, in east Cleveland, cancelled seven races yesterday because of the rain and a driver had to be cut from his car after it crashed because of the downpour.

People living in Hurworth, near Darlington, put out sandbags to protect their properties from flooding.

The Met Office said there had been an inch of rain in Leeming, North Yorkshire, in 24 hours.

A spokesman said: "There has been moderate rainfall in the North-East over the last days with heavier rainfall in some areas.

"There has been half a month's worth of rain over the last 48 hours in the wettest parts."

A spokeswoman for Redcar Racecourse said its fixtures were worked out a year in advance so they were not able to reschedule races at short notice.

The racecourse will hold its next meeting on Monday.

Elsewhere, hundreds of children were sent home when their school flooded in York.

A blocked drain caused water and sewage to seep into the hall, kitchen and computer suite of Clifton with Rawcliffe Infants School, in the city.

And firefighters battled to stop flood water reaching caravans at the Cayton Bay Holiday Park, near Scarborough.

Last night, four flood warnings for the rivers Ouse and Derwent, in North Yorkshire, were issued by the Environment Agency.

The expected areas of flooding on the Ouse are in York and at Naburn Lock and on the Derwent, at Stamford Bridge and Buttercrambe Mill.

Lesser flood watch warnings were issued for the lower and upper areas of both the Ouse and the Derwent.

The weather also brought disruption to the roads.

Firefighters had to release a driver from his Nissan Micra car after it collided with a van because of the heavy rain.

The accident happened about half-a-mile from Great Burdon, near Darlington, in Bishopton Lane, shortly after 11.15am yesterday.

The driver was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital with suspected spinal injuries.

Forecasters are predicting outbreaks of sunshine in parts of the region tomorrow, but with rain and cloud returning on Thursday.

However, a spokesman for the Met Office said the weather was expected to improve over the weekend with sunny spells by Sunday.