There was chaos on the roads and homes were left without power after Storm Eleanor battered the county yesterday. 

Roads across Dorset were blocked by fallen trees and transport links were disrupted yesterday morning after a night of strong winds and heavy rainfall. 

A yellow weather warning – meaning ‘be aware’ – was issued on Tuesday and was extended until 7pm yesterday as strong winds continued to batter the coast.

Dorset Echo:

Picture: PC Roan Doyle 

During the early hours of Wednesday morning, the Met Office recorded winds of up to 84 mph on Portland and forecasters warned lives could be at risk from flying debris as the fifth-named storm of the season arrived.

The fierce winds caused trees to come down during the night, causing chaos on the roads and several crashes on Wednesday morning. 

Dorset County Council said between 6pm on Tuesday and 10am on Wednesday they had received more than 30 reports of fallen trees across the county.

There were reports of trees down from Bridport to Bere Regis.

Fire crews and electrical engineers attended and police closed the road after a utility pole became loose and dangerous and a high voltage power cable was downed on the A351 near Holton Heath. 

Revels Hill near Cosmore, north of Cerne Abbas, was closed and emergency services attended after a car hit a tree at Gales Hill. 

A spokesman for Dorset Police said: "We received a report of a single vehicle collision at Revels Hill near Cosmore at 7.12am on Wednesday.

"The vehicle involved, a black Ford Focus, overturned and it was reported a tree was partially blocking the road at the location."

Fortunately, no one was injured in the crash. 

Rodwell Road in Weymouth was briefly closed following a crash at Boot Hill but Dorset Police said there were 'no serious injuries involved'. 

Some major roads were also affected including the A35 and the A350. 
Four vehicles were involved in a crash on Upton Bypass just after 8am causing major delays in the area for several hours. 

A spokesman for Dorset Police said the crash involved a blue Vauxhall Adam, a red Ford Transit panel van, a silver Vauxhall Corsa and a black Ford Mondeo.

They said: "There were no reports of any injuries and one lane was closed while recovery for the vehicles was arranged."

Norwood Lane at Corscombe was closed due to a fallen tree and downed power cables.

Dorset Echo:

Clearing Debris at Chesil        Picture: Finnbarr Webster

As the storm hit the county during Tuesday night, homes near Evershot and and Winfrith Heath were left without power for several hours. 

According to Scottish and Southern Electricity, power cuts in the Evershot area were first reported at 3.14am with an engineer expected shortly afterwards but power was not returned until just after 12pm.

Residents in Winfrith Heath were left without electricity for almost three hours after power was lost shortly after 11am. 

Travellers left stranded as public transport hit 

Public transport links across the county were also disrupted by the storm. 

First Dorset announced issues with bus services due to the adverse weather conditions. 

Several bus services ran late while others were unable to complete their routes due to fallen trees. 

Residents of Wynford Eagle, Toller Porcorum, Higher Kingcombe and Hooke were left without a bus service after the B2 failed to get through while students were left stranded after the B4 school service got stuck behind a fallen tree.

The Sandbanks ferry connecting Studland and Poole was suspended throughout the morning due to high winds and tide - resuming services at 12pm. 

However, travellers were left without ferries after Condor cancelled all fast sailings from Poole, France and the Channel Islands. A spokesman said services would not resume until wind speeds died down.

Capt Fran Collins, Condor’s Executive Director of Operations, said: "We appreciate that, with several days of disruption due to successive storms, passengers are very keen to know what travel options they have.

"We share our passengers’ disappointment at the obvious inconvenience and uncertainty caused by this sustained period of atrocious weather.

"I would like to thank them for their resilience and determination."