Netley Marsh Steam and Craft Show makes comeback after last year's washout

The 2012 show had to be cancelled after weeks of torrential rain left parts of the 40-acre showground under several inches of water.

This year the site is back to its sun-baked best, thanks to the recent hot spell.

But with violent thunderstorms forecast for the south over the weekend, committee members and exhibitors are hoping their luck will hold.

Recalling 2012 show spokesman Tony Greenham said: “We put in a year’s work and then the weather beat us – they don’t call it Netley Marsh for nothing. This year it’s all come together very nicely. It’s lovely to be back.”

About 15,000 spectators are expected to flock through the gates before the show closes tomorrow evening.

The Renegades Parachute Display Team is due to drop in today and tomorrow while members of Waltham Chase Trials Club will be riding their bikes over a series of challenging obstacles and there will be a display by the clever canines from the Fair Oak Dog Display Team.

Tonight’s musical line-up includes a concert by Southampton singer-songwriter Charley Macaulay – on stage at 6.30pm.

But for many the real stars of the event are the steam engines that show what life was like on Hampshire farms in previous centuries.

This year the huge metal marvels are once again joined by dozens of vintage cars and motorcycles, plus an array of old vehicles once owned by the emergency services.

One of the cars on show is a 55-year-old Wolseley that has been converted into a replica Metropolitan Police car from the late 1950s.