A mass sporting event has been cancelled an hour and a half before it was all due to begin because of "appalling weather conditions".

A massive 3,000 people signed up to run, jog or walk the Medway Mile tonight (Friday).

But with events beginning at 5pm and the rain still pouring, it has been cancelled - without any plans to rearrange it for another date this year.

A Medway Council spokeswoman said: “We are extremely disappointed to have to cancel the Medway Mile due to the appalling weather conditions forecast for this evening, which pose safety concerns.

“We’d like to thank participants for their support and understanding.

“This is Medway’s biggest mass participation sporting event and it grows in popularity each year.

“We’ll now look ahead to next year’s event on July 22, 2016, when we hope the weather will be on our side.”