Fairford Air Tattoo washed out
A Glastonbury-like quagmire forced Royal International Air Tattoo organisers to cancel the world's biggest military airshow for the first time in its history. More than 170,000 plane enthusiasts spent the 12th-13th July weekend gazing at rain clouds instead of their beloved aircraft following torrential downpours over RAF Fairford. But air tattoo directors defended their decision to cancel the showpiece event at the 11th hour, which has left ticket holders facing an eight-week wait to get their money back.

Britain's 14-year-old rising star Laura Robson
Laura Robson's Wimbledon debut came to a fairytale end as she defeated Thailand's Noppawan Lertcheewakarn 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to claim the girls' singles title. A packed Court One saw the unseeded 14-year-old become the youngest winner of the title since Martina Hingis in 1994 - ironically the year Robson was born. Third seed Lertcheewakarn struggled to contain Robson's aggressive style in a one-sided opening set, but she capitalised when the south Londoner inexplicably fell apart in the second. She will now be eligible for a wild card to the women's draw at SW19 next year 2009 and has dropped just one set during her march to Wimbledon glory.

Grand Fire at The Grand Pier
The Grand Pier in Weston-Super-Mare burned down in less than two-hours on Monday 28th July 2008, in the early morning. The fire is believed to have started in a deep fat fryer shortly after 7am and quickly swept through the 104 year old timber framed building. Fire Officers praised the actions of a worker who bravely removed Low Pressure Gas canisters which would have caused devastation if they ignited. Over 80 firefighters tackled the blaze but were powerless as the dry timber frame quickly engulfed in flames and plumes of smoke was visible over 50 miles away.