PARTS of Dorset were hit by a second day of flooding caused by high tides and heavy rain overnight.

The Environment Agency had issued flood warnings for the region for the last few days, particularly coastal areas.

Weymouth town centre was affected for the second day running around the quayside and harbour in the morning during high tide.

Commercial Road and Custom House Quay were swamped, although water levels were not as high as the previous day’s flooding.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said it was surface water caused by the spring tides.

He said: “It actually wasn’t too bad in this area overnight, there were some gusty winds which led to some localised flooding in the South West region but Dorset was not affected.

“In Weymouth the flooding was purely surface water road flooding, not rivers overflowing, it’s all been tidal due to the spring tides.

“We were not anticipating high tides like there were and hopefully it should be a quieter period for flooding now.”

Local boat owner Barry Gasson said the area often gets waterlogged during the spring tide.

He said: “I’ve got a yacht moored in the harbour and with all the flood warnings I came to check on it.

“The water was really high and the pontoons were rising above their normal levels, they were actually above the height of the road.

“It’s nothing unusual in this area, the spring tides often cause flooding.

“There was a 2.3-metre tide this morning.”

Ian McMillan, who lives in Granary Wharf on Commercial Road, said the worst of the flooding happened on Wednesday.

“The road under the Town Bridge was under water but on Wednesday it was worse because of the winds,” he said “I’ve had water coming right up over the road and flooding into my garage before, this area has always been a flood risk.

“Since they did the work on the harbour it hasn’t come up that high but the road still floods almost every year.”

How to protect against deluge

DORSET County Council and the Environment Agency will be holding Dorset Flood Fair on November 3.

The event will take place at the Dorford Centre, Dorchester, from 10.30am to 4pm.

Residents are invited to come along and get advice from organisations, including the National Flood Forum, and information from flood protection manufacturers to find out how to protect homes and businesses. For more information call 01258 483326.