Rain and flooding causes travel chaos across Dorset

Flood alerts were in place in all west Dorset rivers yesterday morning as a yellow rain warning forecasted heavy rain until 7pm. A landslip closed a main west Dorset route and schools across the county closed for the day. The rain caused significant flooding, with several road closures across the county.

There was major disruption on the A35 with the road at Bloxworth blocked due to flooding. A crash also caused the road to be closed between Woodbury Cross and Morden Park Corner. A Dorset Police spokesperson said: “It is reported that a vehicle has collided with a tree.

Police, ambulance, and fire services are in attendance. Two people have been taken to hospital; their injuries are not currently believed to be serious.” The Environment Agency issued a flood warning for the River Wey from Upwey to Weymouth including Church Street, Little Mead, Nottington Lane, Nottington Farm and Almas Palace Another flood warning was in place for Upper Frome from Maiden Newton to Dorchester and Lower Frome from East Stoke to Wareham.

In west Dorset, the River Brit also burst its banks at Netherbury. There was flooding in Winterbourne Abbas on the A35 with motorists struggling to get through the water. A crash also caused the road to be closed between Woodbury Cross and Morden Park Corner.

A vehicle was left stranded in Toller Porcorum due to flooding in the village. The B1363 Clay Lane between Broadwindsor and Beaminster was closed due to flooding. An eyewitness reported that a couple of cars had broken down attempting to get through the flooded area, which was blocking traffic both ways.

A landslip took place on the B3162 between Broadwindsor and Salwayash and closed the road from Bridport. An eyewitness at the scene has said that after the tree came down, which caused a landslide, the road will remain closed as ‘the bank is unstable’, according to the authorities. Several schools were closed because of the forecast including: Beaminster School, Newtown; Mountjoy School, Beaminster; Powerstock CE VA Primary School; Bridport; The Forum Centre, Park Road, Blandford Forum and Thorners CE VA Primary School in Dorchester.

Advice for areas on flood alert is to:

• Avoid using low lying footpaths and any bridges near local watercourses
• Do not attempt to walk or drive through flood water
• Consider taking action now and install any property flood resilience measures

This comes after a week of heavy rain which has seen much of the county submerged in floodwater.

Several roads were already closed across the county due to the flooding which was caused by heavy rain on Monday and Tuesday.