Flash flooding hits south coast

19/08/11

Shane Gladstone

Parts of Dorset were hit by flash flooding on Thursday after nearly a month's worth of rain fell on one area in fewer than 10 hours.

The Met Office said that nearly 5.8 centimeters of rain fell over the nine-hour period in Portland even though over a whole month the county normally only sees 6.4 centimeters.

Other towns along the south coast were also hit, with the heavy downpours causing travel chaos in Bournemouth for people on buses and in cars.

Locals said that in some places water levels were reaching nearly as far as the bonnets of parked cars.

A motorbike was submerged in the flood water in Burley, with its rider and a passenger treated by local ambulance crews.

The service station at Sutton Scotney near Winchester was also badly affected by the flooding.

A spokesman for the Met Office said the rainfall had been "significant". However he added that it had hit certain areas and that those nearby had escaped unaffected.