AN ANNUAL visit to Kent by the Band of HM Royal Marines Portsmouth (Royal Band) was rained off at Deal on Sunday for the first time.

Half the concert had just been completed when lightning and torrential rain stopped play and the crowds had to take cover.

The event is held on the Deal Memorial Bandstand, built as a memorial to the 11 musicians who died when the IRA bombed the Royal Marines School of Music in Deal in 1989.

In 1996 the barracks was closed as part of Government cub-backs and the Band pledged to return every year to play on Walmer Green.