A west Dorset road forced to close because of a landslip will remain shut until local authorities can fully assess the situation.

Dorset Police and Dorset Council attended the site of the landslide, which took place on the road between Broadwindsor and Salwayash, on the afternoon of Thursday, December 7.

The B3162 is currently closed between the Stoke Abbott turn off to Norway Lane.

READ: West Dorset roads still disrupted due to flooding 

A tree that had come loose fell and caused the landslip, which one eyewitness said left the 'bank unstable', according to authorities they spoke to at the scene.

Until Dorset Council is able to make a full assessment of the road it will remain closed, but did not confirm until when, due to the high volume of incidents it is dealing with following heavy rain throughout the week.

A spokesperson for Dorset Council said: "We are aware of this landslip, and we will send an engineer out to assess the situation as soon as we can, but we are dealing with a lot of reports following this week’s weather.

"Once assessed we will have a better idea of what we are dealing with and whether the road closure will remain.

"We encourage people to use the report form on our website so that we can allocate resources accordingly."

READ: Bridport FC clean up after River Brit bursts its banks 

The police were also in attendance to assist with clearing the road and implementing the road closure.

A spokesperson for Dorset Police added: "We received a report at 12.35pm of a landslip partially blocking the road on the B3162 between Broadwindsor and Salwayash.

"Officers have attended, along with the local authority.

"The local authority is clearing the road and closures have been put in place as a precaution."

On Monday, December 4, Bridport was hit by severe flooding caused by heavy rain as the River Brit's banks burst, leaving the town's football club, and Groves Nursery and Garden Centre completely submerged with several feet of water.

The A35 towards from Bridport to Dorchester also experienced severe flooding this week along with the Jurassic Coast Road, particularly at Burton Bradstock.

People are being urged to take care when driving on the roads and are advised to drive slowly through flood water.