ANIMAL lovers are urged to ditch plans for a day out at Cotswold Wildlife Park today, after rain battered its car park.

Debbie Ryan, spokeswoman for the park in Bradwell Grove, said: “This awful weather with very persistent rain has taken its toll on the grass and waterlogged our car park. We are open but the tarmac area is very limited so we strongly advise visitors to delay their visit.

“We are going to keep an eye on the weather – the sun is out but we certainly don’t want people thinking ‘what a lovely day to visit’. We don’t want to disappoint people but you can’t control the great British weather. We want to make sure everybody has a great time.”

She assured animal-lovers that the habitats of furry friends were not affected by the rainfall - in fact, the rhinos are loving the mud. 

Half term is a busy week for the park especially with the sun shining, but drivers risk getting stuck in the flooded field. 

She said it is unlikely people will be able to make it to the park on foot or via public transport because of its rural location. 

A weather warning remains in place in Oxfordshire today, following freezing overnight temperatures. 

Visitors to the park will be kept up-to-date on the park's Twitter and Facebook pages, which issued apologies for any inconvenience caused.