HEAVY rain forced the delay of a £90,000 road resurfacing scheme at Poole’s Ashley Cross today.

And Bournemouth Gardens were also flooded after heavy rain hit Dorset.

The roadworks on Ashley Cross, expected to take five days, were due to start in the morning but engineers told the Daily Echo they were unable to proceed because of standing water on the carriageway.

It is hoped the works, to replace a worn out section of Bournemouth Road between the Church Road signal junction and Courtenay Road, will take place tomorrow.

Cllr Potter, Borough of Poole’s transportation portfolio holder, said: “We recognise that the works will cause some unavoidable disruption to road users and would ask motorists to allow extra time for their journeys.”

Temporary traffic signals will be in place while the work continues.

In Swanage, surface water could be seen covering many of the roads within the seaside town and across Wareham, as residents donned hats, coats and brought out the brollies to fight the damp spell.

The Met Office has reported that 16.8millimetres of rain has fallen in the past three hours across the town today, which is predicted to ease off into the afternoon.

 

Cliff Thomas, an amateur weather enthusiast from Wareham, said his weather charts show that even greater levels have rain have fallen this morning.

He said: “When you have had 30-millimetres of rain fall in the area, you would expect there to be some flooding around the back roads of Purbeck.

“The rain today has come from a front which caused rain in Scotland, which has become sandwiched between the counties in the south west, causing what is called a trough.

“Because the weather is already warm and moist, this has just aided towards some torrential rain.

“When I looked at the weather charts yesterday, I expected some rain but not 30millimetres, which is a lot of rain to fall in a short space of time.

“However, it has stopped now and should lead into a brighter afternoon.”

A spokesperson for Purbeck District Council said that they had not received any reports of flooding across the area.

Travel Dorset have reported there is flooding on the A351 Valley Road at Langton Martavers, near Crack Lane. 

And Mudeford Lane in Christchurch was also hit by flooding.