Dorset lashed by hurricane-force winds as Storm Imogen hits county

Flooding, fallen trees and lightning strikes closed roads and railway lines causing havoc for commuters.

Huge waves battered the coast as winds swept in – gusts of more than 80mph were recorded at Portland Harbour.

The A35 around Dorchester was one of the worst affected routes as sections of it were closed due to flooding and a fallen tree. It caused severe delays throughout the day.

Portland Beach Road and Preston Beach Road remained open despite earlier fears they would have to be closed at high tide due to waves crashing over.

Dorset County Council monitored the roads throughout the morning and decided both were safe to remain open but advised motorists to drive with caution.

Hundreds of residents in Dorchester and Swanage were left without power due to the weather. More than 400 customers were affected in the Dorchester area while more than 40 were plunged into darkness in Purbeck.

Emergency services were called to the Granby Industrial Estate after the roof of the Esso Garage was deemed "unsafe" when debris fell from the building.

There was severe disruption on the rail network between Weymouth and Dorchester after a lightning strike hit signalling equipment.

Dorset Fire and Rescue Service said crews from Weymouth, Dorchester, Maiden Newton, Beaminster and Sturminster Newton were all out dealing with flooding incidents.

Calls included flooding inside a property at From Vauchurch, near Maiden Newton. 

Environment Agency teams were out monitoring the waves at Chiswell, Portland, and at West Bay – two flooding hotspots which were battered by storms two years ago, prompting an evacuation.

At West Bay, Dennis Holton said: “The sea looks quite spectacular when it’s like this, but you wouldn’t want to get too close to it.

“The dogs really don’t like it, but it’s a strange atmosphere when you come down here when it’s stormy.”

John Miles added: I didn’t realise it was going to be so windy. You can really taste the salt in the air. You can really see the power of the sea.”

Lynda Henderson said: “We love coming down here in the storms.

“As long as you’re careful, it’s great to have a look at the waves crashing against the rocks and all the spray coming up.

“It can be calm one minute, then the next minute, you are getting battered.”

The Met Office had issued an amber warning for wind on Sunday warning motorists to consider driving conditions before setting off.

Flooding affected Monkey's Jump Roundabout and further along the A35 between the Football Ground Roundabout and the A352 junction.

The deluge also affected the West Stafford Bypass, the A37 near Charminster, the Old Sherborne Road near the Sun Inn, the A357 Church Hill in Stalbridge and Church Street and Mill Street in Sturminster Newton. 

Bridport Road in West Milton was closed between the Larcombe Lane junction and the Yellow Lane junction and Bulbarrow Lane in Winterborne Houghton was blocked near the Water Lane junction, because of landslips.

Church Street in Upwey was partially blocked because of debris on the road and the B3143 in Alton Pancras was partially blocked because of stones on the road.

A DRIVER had a narrow escape after a tree was uprooted in the storm and hit his car.

The massive tree crashed down onto the A35 between Bridport and Winterbourne Abbas, causing delays for motorists.

A motorist was forced to take avoiding action as the tree fell, and it hit part of his car.

The road was closed for more than two hours as the obstruction was removed.

A Dorset Police spokesman said: “A fallen tree blocked the A35 about a mile west of Winterbourne Abbas. The highways authority was called to deal with the fallen tree.

“The tree fell onto one vehicle, but no-one is injured. Police were at the scene, assisting with the incident.”

The driver, who didn’t want to be named, said he was “shaken” by the experience.

He said: “As I was driving along I just saw the tree coming down in slow motion, I managed to slam on my breaks and swerve to the side.

We are all okay, just shocked. The weather was dangerous.”

Another motorist said there were six men from the local authority working to cut up the tree.

The A35 was re-opened shortly before 1.30pm.

A LIGHTNING strike damaging signalling equipment between Weymouth and Dorchester and the high-force winds of Storm Imogen caused chaos on the railways.

Lines between Weymouth and both Dorchester stations were closed due to the strike on Sunday night and buses were laid on between stations for 

Train services running to and from these stations were cancelled or terminated at and started back from Dorchester West.

Disruption lasted until around 11am yesterday.

Trains were disrupted between London Waterloo and Weymouth.

Between 08.05am and 12:35pm, trains which left London Waterloo at five past the hour terminated at Dorchester South.

A connecting replacement bus service ran between Dorchester and Weymouth, calling at Upwey.

Trains which left London Waterloo at 35 past the hour ran to Weymouth, and called additionally at Upwey.

Between 11.20am and 4.03pm trains leaving Weymouth at 20 past the hour started from Dorchester South.

A replacement bus service ran from Weymouth to Dorchester South, calling at Upwey.

Commuters travelling beyond Dorchester towards Bournemouth and Waterloo were advised to take direct trains leaving Weymouth at three minutes past the hour.

The severe weather caused a signalling problem which meant trains were unable to run between Bournemouth and Weymouth for most of the day. 

A limited train service also ran between Poole and London Waterloo.

Engineers tried to rectify the issue, but local flooding meant that they were unable to access the areas needed to rectify the issue.

Trains therefore terminated and started back from Bournemouth or Poole and replacement buses ran a shuttle service between Bournemouth and Weymouth.

A spokesman for South West Trains said: "We are very sorry for the continued disruption to your journey yesterday and today."