Sea defences are breached and cars are carried away on Dorset beach

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A Dorset beach was last night battered by a brutal storm that breached sea defences and even carried cars away amid strong wings, heavy rainfall and terrifying 23ft waves. 

Sea and rain water poured into streets surrounding Chesil Beach on the Isle of Portland, with at least one person believed to have been left needing urgent medical attention. 

The Environment Agency had issued a flood warning for the area, forecasting sea spray overtopping along the coast as a result of high tides and strong winds and urging people to be careful along beaches, promenades and coastal footpaths and roads due to the danger of big waves. 

Property owners were also urged to install flood resilience equipment after one road, set just back from the famous shingle beach, had to be closed completely. 

The emergency Services, including the Coastguard and paramedics, attended the scene at around 9.30pm. The scene was captured on camera by local woman Sharon Nicol Cooper.

The 47-year-old said: ‘I have lived in Portland for three years and have never seen it quite like it was last night. Yes, there have been storms before but that was definitely the worst of them all.

‘The waves were absolutely huge and there was just so much flooding. Just behind the beach there is a small car park and the water even swept one of two of the cars away with it. It was absolutely crazy weather.’

It comes as temperatures plunged to -6C in England last night as hundreds of ice and flood warnings remain in place today and eight inches of snow have been forecast for next week.  

Parts of Scotland experienced temperatures of -15C while a yellow warning for ice stretching from western Welsh coasts across to London and East Anglia came into force at 8pm yesterday, lasting until 11am today. 

Today the Environment Agency has put 84 flood warnings across England in place, alongside 215 less serious flood alerts, after water levels rose across the country yesterday. Yellow snow and ice warnings have been issued across the Shetland Islands which may cause travel disruption.  

Northern England and parts of Wales could see snow ‘pretty much anywhere’ with 0.4 inches to two inches likely at lower levels and up to four inches across higher parts. 

The highest areas could get ‘up to eight inches or so though the course of the day’ and meteorologist Simon Partridge predicted that Trans-Pennine routes in particular could have some issues on Tuesday.

The same band of wintry weather is set to move northwards towards Wednesday and take the weather warnings for snow with it with the central belt of Scotland most likely to see disruption.  

Mr Partridge said: ‘We’ve got this band of rain sleet and snow that’s moving across much of England and Wales through today, that is a real messy mix.’   

Southern areas experienced wet conditions, but further north sleet, rain and hill snow have triggered a further yellow weather warning.

‘They’re just getting a cold, wet, miserable day really under that band there,’ Mr Partridge said.

Pictures from Gloucestershire yesterday showed a children’s playground partially submerged in Tewkesbury and vehicles driving through rising floodwaters in Lower Applerlay. 

There were similar scenes in Henley on Thames in Oxfordshire, where water was seen rising on to the towpath, surrounding benches and approaching riverside homes.   

After more settled but chilly days on Monday and Tuesday, Mr Partridge said: ‘It gets a bit more interesting as we go into Tuesday and the middle of the week.’

He predicted a ‘much heavier’ band of rain to arrive overnight on Monday into Tuesday which will ‘quickly turn to snow as it bumps up against cold air’ and has triggered further yellow weather warnings for snow and ice.    

Met Office Chief Meteorologist Andy Page said yesterday: ‘Over the next few days we continue to see a division between milder conditions in the South West with much colder air to the north and east. 

‘The boundary between the two air masses will flex north and south bringing the potential for snow along the boundary between the two.

‘Tomorrow begins with a weather front moving north from the South West triggering rain and snow warnings. In southern parts of Cornwall and Devon heavy rain will feature, particularly on higher ground. 

‘However, rain is likely to turn to sleet and snow across Wales and central England during the morning and then some parts of south and south-east England before it clears southwards again.

‘The most likely areas for disruptive snow are across Wales and over the Cotswolds, where there is the risk of a few centimetres accumulating at lower elevations, but this could increase to 15cm or more at locations above 250m.

‘A snow warning is in place place for this region until 6pm on Saturday. Saturday night will see temperatures falling away from the far South West, with a widespread sharp frost likely across the rest of the UK.’ 

Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Jason Kelly added: ‘On Sunday we see another weather front bringing rain and snow east and north across the UK, but the most significant event in the forecast is a feature from late Monday evening, which threatens to bring rainfall across a swathe of the UK from the south and west.

‘In the colder air to the north of this system the rainfall will readily turn to snow or even freezing rain, affecting a large part of England and Wales north of the M4 corridor. 

‘A warning, in force from 9pm on Monday to just before midnight on Wednesday, highlights the risk of 1-4cm of snowfall quite widely, with up to 10cm accumulating on higher ground above 150m.

‘The risk of freezing rain will be an additional threat across parts of eastern Wales and the west and south Midlands. Snow should turn back to rain lasting longest across parts of northern England.’