SOME shops in Christchurch are expected to reopen today after flooding forced them to close their doors.

Meteor Shopping Park in Somerford Road was temporarily closed yesterday following a heavy downpour.

Posting on social media last night, Meteor Retail Park said: “Sadly, due to the downpour, the units have had some flooding and are temporarily closed. Hopefully some will be back open tomorrow. We will keep you updated as we know more.”

Yesterday at Aldi, debris could be seen on the floor as well as wires hanging down from the ceiling. Some of the checkouts still had shopping on them.

An Aldi spokesperson said yesterday: “Like other retailers, we have temporarily closed our store in Meteor Shopping Park, Christchurch, due to storm damage. The store was safely evacuated and we will keep customers updated on when it will reopen.”

Further along Somerford Road, McDonald's and Lidl also had to shut their doors yesterday afternoon following the deluge.

A McDonald’s spokesperson: "Our Christchurch restaurant was affected by the bad weather earlier this afternoon and was closed around 2pm due to the gutters being overwhelmed. We are working to re-open the restaurant as soon as possible."

And in Christchurch town centre, the M&S food store in High Street was closed due to "heavy flooding".

An M&S spokesperson said: "As a result of the storm this afternoon, we had to temporarily close our store to ensure that it was safe for our customers and colleagues. The store has now reopened and we apologise for any inconvenience caused."

People took to social media yesterday to share footage of the heavy rain which came after days of hot weather. 

Christchurch appeared to be particularly affected with surface water on a number of roads.