Roads were blocked and homes were left without power after Storm Bronagh hit the county.

A yellow weather warning for ‘very strong wind’ was issued across the county on Thursday and remained in place until yesterday morning.

During the night rain hit the parts of Dorset and winds picked up, reaching 32mph with gusts of up to 54mph – bringing down trees, fences and cutting off electricity supplies.

Trains were ordered to run at a reduced speed on parts of the Weymouth-Waterloo line due to the risk of debris on the line.

According to the Beaufort wind force scale winds of 32mph are ‘near gale’ with whole trees in motion.

Between 10pm on Thursday and 10am on Friday, Dorset Police said they received 41 reports of fallen trees affecting the roads.

Dorset County Council said teams worked “flat out” through the night and morning to clear roads and “get people to work on time.”

Several trees were brought down in west Dorset with multiple trees reported on the A356 Winyards Gap area with other trees brought down on the A37, A354 and several places along the A35.

Yesterday evening in Lyme Regis, authorities were called to a tree which had fallen near an electricity sub-station.

Hundreds of residents in north, west and east Dorset - Three Legged Cross, Ferndown, Oakley, Sturminster Newton, Bradford Abbas, Rampisham - were left without power as fallen trees and wind-borne debris caused damage to the overhead electricity network.

Power was restored in most areas by early afternoon yesterday, however residents near Bradford Abbas were told that power would not be restored until the evening – leaving them without power for almost 24 hours.

Craig Gilroy, SSEN’s Director of Customer Operations, said: “With high winds forecast to return on Sunday, we will continue to monitor conditions and are ready to respond to any damage. If any of our customers do come across any damage to our equipment, we ask that they don’t approach it as it may still be live. Instead, call us on the single emergency number 105 and we’ll investigate as soon as possible.”

Blustery weather will once again hit the county tomorrow morning with a yellow weather warning for wind continuing through the night until 9am Monday. Rain is also forecast during the day on Sunday.

The Met Office said there was a small chance of injury and danger to life from flying debris and some buildings could be damaged as tiles blow from roofs or due to falling trees and branches.

Motorists, rail users and travellers may incur delays as the weather affects transport services.

People on the coast are warned there is a chance of injury and danger to life from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts.