A Kidlington dance school had to cancel its classes at late notice after heavy rainfall caused a power cut at its studio earlier this week - the second it has suffered from in recent months.

Mini Professionals Dance Academy was forced to cancel its classes on Monday, September 23, after the rain left the studio without power from the afternoon through to early Tuesday morning.

From 9am on Sunday, September 22, until 9am on Monday, Oxford experienced its highest 24 hour rainfall total in 56 years, with much of the county hit by the bad weather.

The school was due to hold 11 classes as part of its standard weekly timetable, but had to cancel most of the day's sessions.

Mini Professionals Dance Academy's 10th year anniversary showcaseMini Professionals Dance Academy's 10th anniversary showcase (Image: Hannah Veale Photography) A spokesperson for the dance school said: "We risked allowing the tinies classes (aged four to seven) and some of the mids classes (aged eight to 11) to come to their sessions.

"As the darkness approached, we had no choice but to cancel the rest of the evening.

"This meant crediting people with their payments or frantically contacting them to try and get them booked into another class that week.

"Thankfully, we just about managed to keep the classes going without the need for lights until about 5.30pm."

It comes after the academy had to reschedule its 10th anniversary showcase in July when a power cut plunged it into darkness.

More than 200 dancers were taking part at the Amey Theatre in Abingdon, putting on a show which had been months in the making.

But the first performance was interrupted by a power cut that put the theatre in darkness and led to the cancellation of the show's second half.

Mini Professionals Dance Academy's 10th year anniversary showcaseMini Professionals Dance Academy's 10th anniversary showcase (Image: Hannah Veale Photography) Bethany Gorton, owner of the Mini Professionals Dance Academy, said at the time: "During the interval of Sunday's matinee show, all of the power suddenly went off.

"We escorted the audience outside of the theatre and contacted SSE immediately, who informed us that sadly the power wouldn't be back on until 3pm.

"We had to make the incredibly difficult decision to send the audience away, offering them a free ticket to the evening show instead."

She said the academy was "pleasantly surprised by how many audience members returned to watch the children shining on stage", given it coincided with the Euros final on July 14.

She added: "The children handled the situation brilliantly, and we entertained the students in the sunshine until the power returned.

"Everyone remained positive and the evening show was a huge success.

"Our first rule is kindness and compassion, which is probably why the show weekend ran so smoothly."