PERSISTENT strong winds battered the south coast today, causing trees to fall, roads to be closed and even part of a house in Christchurch to fall on top of a parked car.

Wind speeds of up to 60mph were recorded in Dorset on May 21, causing the gable end of a property on Hyde Mews, near Christchurch Junior School, to topple onto a stationary Ford hatchback.

A resident of the cul-de-sac said: “One of my neighbours said it was like a bomb going off.

“This road is quite a popular cut through for students going to the school or for people getting to the train station. I walk my dog down to the station and back every morning.

“It has almost taken the top triangle of the roof off. If you would have been in that car, you would have died.”

Bournemouth Echo: Firefighters were called to a property on Hyde Mews, near Christchurch Junior School, after the gable end of a property fell and squashed a parked Ford hatchback on Thursday May 21

Firefighters closed off the road and urged people to stay away from the area.

Structural engineers visited the property to ensure no further damage would be caused, and firefighters visited neighbouring households to check on residents before vacating the area.

A spokesman from Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, who was on the scene, said: “Our main concern now is neighbouring buildings. We have put out an alert on social media urging people to stay away from this road.

“We are concerned that this is a popular route for school children and people accessing the train station.

“A highways agency from the council is coming to clear a route for cars.”

Bournemouth and Boscombe piers, as well as Boscombe Undercliff Drive car park, were also closed to the public as the council said approximately 20,000 tonnes of sand are expected to be cleared from the 10-mile stretch of seafront promenade from Sandbanks to Hengistbury Head.

Bournemouth Echo: Strong winds on Thursday May 21 wreaked havoc across Dorset, causing tress to fall down, and road closures across the county

A spokesperson from BCP Council said: “Our cleansing teams are working as hard as they can to make sure that we can get as much sand back onto the beach as possible. There is a significant amount of sand on the promenade in some areas.

“The piers at Bournemouth and Boscombe were closed but this is being reviewed on an hourly basis based on weather conditions.

“The Boscombe Undercliff car park is also closed and will only be re-opened when it is safe for vehicles to access this area."

Bournemouth Echo: Strong winds on Thursday May 21 wreaked havoc across Dorset, causing tress to fall down, and road closures across the county

Elsewhere across the county, the A31 was closed in both directions between the A348 Trickett's Cross and the A338 near Ringwood due to a fallen tree.

Many residents across the conurbation reported fallen trees, with some falling on top of people’s cars.

Kirsten Medway, who lives on Dale Valley Road, woke up on Thursday morning with her neighbours’ tree on top of her car.

Bournemouth Echo: Strong winds on Thursday May 21 wreaked havoc across Dorset, causing tress to fall down, and road closures across the county

She said: “It happened in the morning at some point. My next-door neighbour left for work at 6am so it must have happened after then.

“At the moment, it doesn’t look too bad. I can only see a few scratches but there’s no broken glasses or obvious dents that I can see.

“We have one lot of tree surgeons come earlier but they left as they said they would need a bigger machine as there are some quite heavy branches.

“I love my car; it is a convertible, and I was looking forward to using it this summer.”

A yellow Met Office warning for strong winds ends at 9pm on Friday evening.