Heavy thunderstorms have caused chaos across Dorset.

At the peak of the storm, which hit Poole at about 1am on Friday and slowly made its way east, rain was falling at the Met Office's maximum recorded rate of more than 32mm per hour.

Local weather forecaster Jim Smith said just under 40mm of rain fell between 1.45am and 4.15am, with parts of the New Forest seeing as much as 75mm. Swanage saw 31mm fall in just one hour. 

All trains through Bournemouth station are running at reduced speed this morning because of heavy flooding after last night's thunderstorms.

Talbot Heath Junior School has been closed for the day as a result of the storm but it set to reopen on Monday.

A direct lightning strike led to an irreparably damaged fire warning panel and issues with the school's IT and telephone systems.

Sally Weber-Spokes, head of junior school, said: "We apologise unreservedly for any inconvenience you may have encountered this morning as we had to close the Junior School at such short notice.

"I'm afraid we had to take a quick decision to close both junior and pre-prep departments as neither building had an active fire alarm system and so would have been unsafe for the children during the course of the day. 

"We thank you very much for having been so understanding and I should like to reassure you that we are 'good to go' for Monday as we will have a temporary system in place until the permanent fire panel is repaired. The temporary system will be installed over the course of the weekend and has been endorsed by the Fire Service as well as our insurance companies."

Corfe Hills School has also been closed. 

Phillip Keen, acting head teacher said: “We have let the students and parents know that the school is closed today due to flooding.

“The rain was so heavy last night that our drains weren’t able to carry it away so there are a few inches of clean rain water which has risen up in the corridors in the centre of the building and in the classrooms.

“We have had a few concerned students asking about their coursework, mainly art and textiles, which is fine as it is clean rain water that has come in from under the floors.

“We will work to clear it over the weekend and I have already told parents and students that we will be open on Monday.”


Royal Bournemouth Hospital was without phone lines or computer network first thing this morning.

A house in Christchurch caught fire after it was struck by lightning at about 2am. Six fire crews were called to battle the blaze in the roof, with assistance from the Red Cross. A spokesman for the fire service said all the people in the house had been accounted for by 2.30am but the roof had partially collapsed.

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The deluge saw dozens of roads flooded and cars trapped. 

At 1.38am Dorset Police were alerted to reports of flooding in Leigh Road in Wimborne from Brook Road to Poole Lane roundabout.

At 1.55am they were called to reports of flooding outside Wilko in Wimborne Road in Bournemouth. Water was reported to be very deep with a couple of vehicles stuck in the water and the road completely impassable.

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The Wetherspoons pub on Wimborne Road, the Parkstone and Heatherlands, will be closed until further notice because of flooding.

A spokesman said: "The customer area is saturated, the bar area is flooded and below ground water is coming through the ceiling flooding the toilets and cellar. Under the circumstances the pub will not open until further notice."

At 2.32am the fire service reported flooding in Canford Cliffs Road in Poole and at 2.40am there were reports of flooding in East Howe Lane in Bournemouth with water in one house.

At 2.53am police were called to an address in Mount Road in Bournemouth following reports that lightning had struck the chimney. Officers attended and the occupant was found to be safe and well.

At 2.54am Boundary roundabout in Bournemouth was reported as being completely flooded.

At 2.59am the fire service reported that the southbound slip road off the A338 to the Cooper Dean roundabout was flooded with four cars trapped, including a paramedic car.

At 3.05am police were called to reports of severe flooding at the Talbot roundabout on Talbot Avenue.

At 3.54am police were called to reports that flood water was starting to enter properties in Eldon Terrace in Swanage. 

Also at 3.54am police were called to reports that a manhole cover had lifted due to heavy rain in Exeter Road at the junction of Priory Road in Bournemouth, causing the tarmac around it to collapse.

And at 4.35am the police were called by the Environment Agency about a flood warning that had been put in place for Swan Brook in Swanage - the image below shows the spike in river levels.

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The storm also damaged level crossing equipment controlling barriers between Dorchester and Bournemouth, meaning they have to be operated manually. This means trains have to run at a much slower speed, say South West Trains.

The crazy golf course in Bournemouth gardens is still partially submerged and part of the gardens has been cordoned off for clean-up work.

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Ed Alexander, parks planning and contracts manager, said: "Cordons were temporarily put in place in Lower Gardens where inspection covers had lifted and were a potential hazard.

"These cordons have now been lifted and the area cleaned by Wessex Water and the Parks Team. The mini golf course will remain closed until it has been inspected."

Thousands of homes across Wimborne, Purbeck and in Lyndhurst have been without power. Restoration is not expected until 3pm, say SSE.

A spokesperson for SSE said that a powercut is currently affecting 740 customers across Wareham and Dorchester across 74 postcode areas.

He added: “This was caused by a lightning strike to an overhead network. We are hoping to have the power restored by 3pm. We have customer and community advisors in the area who are speaking to people on our Priority Services Register.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and we would like to reassure our customers that we are looking to restore their electricity supply as quickly and safely as possible.”

Around 250 people in the Wimborne area were without power this morning, however SSE said this was not related to the weather. 

SSE confirmed that power was restored at 11.20am today.

There is also a power cut in Poole which is affecting 25 properties in Deneve Avenue.

It happened at 7.43am this morning, in no relation to the bad weather, and is caused by damage to an underground cable. Engineers are on site and power is expected to be restored by 5.30pm.

Examples of people who can sign up to the Priority Services Register include anybody registered as disabled, those with a young baby, anyone dependent on electricity for home medical care, those with a chronic illness or short term medical condition, anyone with special communication needs and recipients of a state pension.

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