9:44am Monday 23rd November 2009
By Dan Goater
DORSET took a battering again over the weekend with gale force winds and driving rain causing havoc.
The Environment Agency issued flood warnings for several parts of Dorset while coastguards again warned ‘wave watchers’ to keep their distance.
In the Beaminster area, a woman had to be rescued from her car after it became stuck in flood water between Drimpton and Littlewindsor.
Crews from Beaminster and Crewkerne rescued the woman using a Land Rover with assistance from Weymouth’s specialist water rescue crew.
The incident happened at around 7.30pm on Saturday.
The Environment Agency had already issued flood warnings for several West Dorset rivers, including the River Asker between Askerswell and Bradpole and from the East Bridge roundabout to Morrisons supermarket in Bridport.
Other warnings were issued for several stretches of the River Bride around Burton Bradstock and the River Brit around Beaminster, Bothenhampton and West Bay.
The agency also warned the public to be prepared for flooding from the River Char at Charmouth, the Mangerton River between Powerstock and Bradpole and the River Wriggle between Chetnole and Bradford Abbas.
Meanwhile, many people headed to the county’s coast to experience the full force of the winter weather for themselves.
Several were seen out and about on Chesil Beach, again prompting Portland coastguards to warn them of the dangers of wave watching.
The spokesman said: “Off Portland Bill we’ve had force 9 gale winds and it is forecast to remain between force 7 and force 9 winds in the South West.
“We had officers out last week warning people not to get too close to the waves because they could be caught out and that advice still stands.
“The advice for sailors in weather like this is: ‘If you don’t have to go out to sea, then don’t.’”
Wyke Regis weather expert Bob Poots said the area has had 10 millimetres more rainfall so far this month than for the whole of last November.
He said: “I’ve recorded wind gusts in Wyke Regis of up to 71 miles per hour.
“The total rainfall between Friday and yesterday was 13.3 millimetres.
“In the first three weeks of this month we’ve exceeded what we would expect to see at this time of year by almost 10 millimetres.
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