STRONG winds and heavy rain swept across Dorset last night.

Rail passengers faced delays of up to 30 minutes on South West Trains between Brockenhurst and Weymouth due to a fallen tree at Hinton Admiral.

The tree was cleared, but the following train struck a tree in the same area.

A number of trees were reported down across the county including on the A352 near East Stoke, Verwood Road at Woodlands between B3081 and Horton Road and the A35 near B3058 Holmsley Road.

In Stony Lane, Burton, a tree brought telephone wires down with it.

Residents in Fairmile experienced a power cut and traffic lights at Blackwater Junction were also reported to be out of action.

Flood alerts were issued for Christchurch and Poole Harbours.

The Environment Agency asked people living in the area to prepare.

In Christchurch the flood alert remained in force for two hours after high tide at 9pm.

In Poole Harbour the alert remained in place for two hours after 10.30pm.  

The Met Office has issued another yellow warning for heavy rain on Friday afternoon and into Saturday.

The warning, which includes Dorset and Poole, says: "An area of heavy rain is expected to cross the UK from Friday afternoon and through Saturday.  This will bring some locally large accumulations, particularly on hills, and following previous wet weather is likely to lead to some localised flooding across south Wales and southwest England.

"The public should be aware of the potential for disruption from flooding and keep up to date with latest forecasts and warnings from the Met Office, Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales."