Residents living near the River Stour in North Dorset are being advised to put flood protection measures in place.

The Environment Agency has issued two red flood warnings - meaning flooding is expected - for the River Stour at Stourpaine and the Middle Stour from Sturminster Newton to Wimborne.

They are advising home owners in Stourpaine to take 'property-level protection', with the river levels expected to peak later this morning.

The warning reads: "Levels in the Stour have been rising steadily overnight and are expected to peak at Stourpaine later on Tuesday morning. Levels on the Iwerne stream have stabilised but may rise as the Stour peak passes through.

"The River level at Hammoon peaked at 2.95m at 04:00 on Tuesday morning. This compares with a level of 3.70 over Christmas 2014.Residents are advised to consider putting property level protection measures in place."

At Middle Stour, river levels are expected to peak in Wimborne later this evening.

At both Ensbury and Ringwood, river levels are already above the 'flooding possible' level. Rain is expected to continue this morning but will clear away this afternoon.

Meanwhile, in Bournemouth and Poole some homes have been without power for more than ten hours due a fault, which is not expected to be fixed until 9am.

Bournemouth University's Talbot campus was also affected overnight, with power restored this morning.

SSE have been contacted for more information.

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