STORM Imogen blew into Dorset on Monday, battering buildings, closing roads and causing flooding.

Gale force winds of more than 60mph hit the coast, with ferries cancelled and flood alerts issued for both Poole and Christchurch harbours.

As it happened: live updates from the day

At Sandbanks, waves crashed over the sea wall, flooding Shore Road, with the chain ferry service cancelled due to the high winds.

Brittany Ferries also cancelled the Barfleur's sailings between Poole and Cherbourg, with Condor Ferries forecasting waves as high as 10metres cross channel.

In Parkstone, residents of a cottage in Churchill Road woke up to find one wall of the property had collapsed overnight during the storm.

A chimney to one side of the building appeared to have given way, leaving a gaping hole and a pile of rubble several metres wide on the driveway.

With rain hammering the county overnight, flood warnings and alerts were issued for the Lower Frome at Wareham, along with Christchurch Harbour, Poole Harbour, and the River Stour and River Avon.

Mill Lane in Sturminster Marshall was impassable due to severe flooding, and Christchurch market was cancelled due to the high winds.

A switch-over of the contraflow system on the A338, which was due to take place on Sunday night, was also halted, with phase three of the work now scheduled to start on Tuesday.

Rail passengers were also disrupted due to the severe weather, with signalling issues between Wareham and Wool, and replacement bus services put on for many passengers travelling from Dorchester to Weymouth.

And at Poole train station, an advertising board was blown over, with boats in Christchurch Harbour battered by the wind and rain throughout the day.

Dozens of households in Corfe Castle and Somerley in Ringwood were without power, as a result of the inclement weather, with SSE engineers working throughout the day to sort the issue.

Fallen trees caused problems in Ridgeway, Broadstone, Station Road in West Moors and Wimborne Road in Bournemouth. Hurn Road and the A35 at Winterbourne Abbas were both partially blocked by fallen trees and another landed on a car at Fleetsbridge Tesco in Poole.

In Doveshill Gardens, Ensbury Park, residents Sue and Robert Edwards had a lucky escape when a 50ft oak tree crashed into their garden, missing their home by inches.

And emergency services were called when a fallen tree blocked the southbound carriageway of Motcombe Road, north of Shaftesbury.

Part of the roof of the probation building in Madeira Road, Bournemouth was also damaged in the wind, with Dorset Fire and Rescue called to make it safe.

The road was closed, while crews using the aerial platform ladder worked to fix the sheet metal roof, which had broken loose from its fastenings.

In Westbourne, Patisserie Angelique's sign was blown off the store, while Millhams Recycling Centre was closed due to the strong winds.

And in Bournemouth town centre, masonry fell from the building at tReds, with fire crews cordoning the store off to shoppers for safety reasons.

Tuesday will remain blustery, with showers, say the Met Office, with the rest of the week looking unsettled with rain on Friday and Saturday.