A WEATHER warning was issued as high winds and heavy showers battered Dorset over the weekend. Trees fell, boats ran aground and some areas saw flooding in what is expected to be named as the wettest April on record, with more rain and severe winds on the way today.

Coastguard officers dealt with several reports of vessels that had run aground or broken free from their moorings as gusts of more than 50mph swept across the county.

A spokesman for Portland Coastguard said: “Luckily, all the boats were unoccupied with nobody onboard. “It is now a question of waiting for the weather to calm a bit before they can be recovered by various ports and owners.”

A motor cruiser called The Life of Riley II washed up on the beach at Portland whilst another boat’s tender was smashed to pieces and had to be pulled from Weymouth Harbour. A group from the harbourmaster’s team recovered the pieces amid fears they would cause more damage.

The fore sail of a yacht by Custom House Quay in Weymouth, came loose yesterday morning and was torn to shreds in the winds.

Poole RNLI was also called to secure a boat which had broken free from its moorings on Saturday night.

The 30ft trimaran, with no passengers onboard, was spotted ashore near Brownsea Island Met Office figures showed gusts of up to 54mph battering Weymouth and Portland and Weymouth beach safety staff had to lash down items that were threatening to blow free.

Stacks of deckchairs were also made safe as the winds increased during the day.

Away from the water, a cedar branch fell and blocked the pavement near to Elwell Manor Guesthouse in Rodwell Road during the early hours yesterday.

A member of staff at the guesthouse said that the branch hit the ground at around 4.30am but had not caused any damage to the nearby property.

Local weatherman John Oliver said: “The Dorchester area has had its second wettest April of the last 120 years.

“The rainfall total stands at 158.3mm, just 2.5mm short of the all time record set in 2000. So a new record is there for the taking.

“In the last two weeks alone, 140mm of rain has been recorded.

“It has also been the coldest April since 1989, particularly noticeable following the warmest March on record and the record-breaking warmth of April 2011.”