A DAY of lashing rain and strong winds brought more flood chaos and disruption to Dorset yesterday.

The prolonged rain forced the closure of several roads, causing misery for motorists.

Traffic queued for more than two miles on the Upton bypass after the Baker’s Arms roundabout was closed by flooding.

Meanwhile, no trains were running between Bournemouth and Brockenhurst – and passengers were left fuming after South West Trains said it had been unable to hire any buses to replace them.

The Sandford road from Wareham and the A350 Blandford road from the Up-ton bypass were both gridlocked following the Baker’s Arms floods while police used an HGV to clear the floodwater.

Earlier, a stretch of the A338 Wessex Way was closed between the Cooper Dean Roundabout and the Spring-bourne Roundabout because a lamppost was in danger of falling.

Part of the lamppost had to be removed and the road was closed for around an hour, sparking len-gthy queues into Bournemouth.

A man driving a blue Mercedes was seriously injured in a collision on the Upton Bypass.

Police were called at 2.20pm to a section just beyond the A350 junction, where there was a tree in the highway, which needed to be removed by the council.

The police said that the man’s injuries were serious but not life threatening.

The Baker’s Arms roundabout was also badly affected by flooding and had to be closed in the afternoon. Motorists were diverted away from the area by police.

Bournemouth council’s highways team was called out to Bath Hill to deal with localised flooding, and also to blocked drains at Winston Road, West Way.

The town’s Central and Lower Gardens were closed to the public because of the amount of surface water and the National Trust closed Corfe Castle because of flooding on the main road.

East Burton Road in Wood was closed due to flooding and pupils were sent home from Winter-borne Valley First School on police advice.

Flooding at Sway forced South West Trains to replace trains between Bournemouth and Broc-kenhurst with a shuttle service.

The bad weather is set to continue today, and there is an amber wind warning until 10am and a yellow warning for rain until 8pm. Flood warnings for Hamworthy Park, Wareham Quay and Sandbanks were in place until 6am today.

Weather-related news in brief...

• BOURNEMOUTH: Bournemouth council workers were sent to Bath Hill roundabout yesterday lunchtime after reports of flooding.

• NEW FOREST: Lyndhurst town centre was very congested yesterday afternoon due to the flooding on the A337 just south of the town. Routes in and from Ashurst and Cadnam were said to be suffering the most.

• COUNTY: Southern and Scottish Energy put extra resources in place to prepare for the bad weather this weekend. They said: “Due to unusually high winds in the south of England, we have now moved to yellow alert. We have extra resources in place in order to repair any damage as quickly as possible.”

• PURBECK: Firefighters from Wareham and rescue crews from Poole were called to East Holme to rescue a lady and her 18-month-old children from a car stuck in flood water yesterday.

• BOURNEMOUTH: All football and rugby matches this weekend on Bournemouth council pitches were called off due to the weather forecast over the weekend.

• POOLE: Bourne Valley Road outside the DVLA building was flooded yester day.

• PURBECK: Dorset Fire and Rescue officers at Swanage urged people to take care on the roads yesterday due to the amount of standing water around the area.

• NORTH DORSET: The A35 from Bere Regis to Lytchett Matravers was just passable yesterday with deep water in some places along the road.

• BOURNEMOUTH: The path at Alum Chine, leading up to West Overcliff Drive is now open after being closed on Thursday because of a fallen tree.

• PURBECK: The A351 at Corfe Castle was closed on Friday afternoon due to severe flooding on the road below the Castle. The National Trust urged people to avoid the road.

• RINGWOOD: More Buses in Ringwood had to divert yesterday due to flooding at Burley and Crow. Buses were able to run along main roads.

• POOLE: Sandbanks Ferry urged people to take care due to lots of water on Ferry Road, Studland, yesterday.

• PURBECK: Dorset County Council said East Burton Road at Wool was closed due to flooding on Friday afternoon.

• BOURNEMOUTH: Council workers were called to deal with flooding at Winston Road and West Way junction. The highways team were sent to the site to try and clear the drains.