The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning for the rest of the week as a band of wind and heavy rain heads for Dorset.

Winds have already caused chaos across the county today with two roads blocked by fallen trees and power lines down in the Bere Regis area.

Gusts of up to 39mph were recorded by the weather station at Hurn and could reach 46mph by the end of the day.

Now forecasters are warning that as much as 40mm of rain could fall tomorrow with Thursday and Friday seeing up to 60mm of rain and gusts of up to 60mph.

The Met Office says there is some uncertainty about when the worst weather could strike but says fallen leaves and blocked drains are likely to raise the risk of surface water flooding. 

The main Lymington Road through Highcliffe had to be shut this morning when a 20ft pine tree fell down.

Drivers stopped to saw off parts of the tree so they could get past after the tree came down close to St George's Close.

Graham Fisher, secretary at Highcliffe Castle Golf Club, sent workers out to cut the tree apart after it was removed from the road near the 14th hole.

He said: “It brought down a telephone cable as it was quite a hefty trunk. It came down across Lymington Road and blocked the carriageway so some lads who were passing got out of their Land Rover with a saw and just managed to clear enough away to get past.”

A Dorset Police spokesman said the road was closed for half an hour. At Gravel Hill, the road had just been opened after an accident when a tree fell, closing the road for a second time.