WHILE America sweeps up after hurricane Ivan, Britain has had its share of weather-related problems.

A new survey shows that rain-related summer accidents have doubled in the past five years.

The number of accidents where drivers blamed either the rain or hail has surged from 4.9% in 1999 to 9.8% in 2004.

Tim Rankin, managing director at WNS, the insurance claims group which completed the survey, said: ‘This summer’s tropical rainstorms carried on from a spring of heavy showers and a winter of torrential rain, all of which produced a significant increase in motor accidents related to precipitation.

‘We had one of the worst summer storms on record in early July and the percentage of motor accidents in which precipitation was a factor almost reached double figures in what is traditionally the driest season in Britain.’

Summer is not the only season where rain can be blamed for increased accident claims. Spring figures for crashes caused by weather surged from 6% in 1999 to 10.1% this year. Winter figures have increased the most, up from 8.7% in 1999 to 23.4% last winter.