HEAVY rain and strong winds have battered Dorset, causing flooding and road closures - and forcing a landmark Weymouth restaurant to temporarily shut its doors to customers.

The arrival of Storm Alex caused disruption across the county, including hours of delays for drivers on the A35 Dorchester Bypass after the route flooded and a white van overturned.

The road was closed in both directions just before 3am between the Stinsford Roundabout and the A345 Stadium Roundabout and remained closed for several hours as Highways England waited for the flood water to disperse.

The popular Billy Winters restaurant, based off Portland Beach Road, was forced to close its doors for the day after its car park flooded.

Alarm bells were raised by a staff member who was unable to get into the restaurant due to the water at 9am yesterday.

Charlie Bloxham, company director at Billy Winters, said that while the flood water by lunchtime had decreased, he was unable to open the venue.

“A staff member said he could not get to the front door due to the flood water”, he said.

“The flood water did subside in the car park but people could not get in.

“There was also flooding in our waste water tanker so we could not open until that was resolved.”

He added: “We usually get a few puddles in the car park but nothing like what we have had. If there is a high tide and easterly winds, it can cause the car park to flood.”

Mr Bloxham said the venue itself had not been damaged by the downpour and that staff members were able to go into work to carry out tasks.

In Swanage, residents were urged to stay away from the seafront due to ‘tidal surges’ after the water breached the sea wall.

Police attended the scene, with one resident saying some of the beach huts had been 'washed away'.

Part of Swanage town centre was also cordoned off due to flooding, including a section of the High Street between Park Road and the town pier.

A flood warning remains in place for the Swanage Bay area with the Environment Agency ‘closely monitoring’ the situation.

A flood alert from Environment Agency reads: "Flooding to roads and properties is possible at these times, however conditions may last two hours either side of the high tide.

"Areas most at risk are The High Street, The Square, The Parade and The Mowlem Strong onshore winds will cause tide levels to rise further.

"We are closely monitoring the situation. Our incident response staff are checking defences and liaising with emergency services.

"Please be careful along beaches, promenades and coastal footpaths and roads as large waves could be dangerous."

The county was today bracing itself for more wet and unsettled weather, with the Met Office issuing a new amber weather warning for Dorset between midday today and 6am tomorrow.

The weather alert states that 'heavy rain is expected to bring some flooding and transport disruption'.

A separate yellow weather alert for rain between 3am and 6pm today is also still in place.