Marooned dog walker and motorists rescued as heavy rain and floods wreak havoc across the New Forest and Christchurch

A DOG walker was rescued from waist-deep water and major train routes shut as heavy rain caused severe flooding across the New Forest and Christchurch.

Fire crews were kept busy throughout the weekend, with multiple callouts to motorists whose vehicles were marooned on flooded roads, amid warnings of travel disruption.

A 66-year-old man walking his dog in Beaulieu became stuck up to his waist in water around 11.50am yesterday (Sunday).

He was freed by firefighters from the village, Fareham and Redbridge who dug around him, and was checked over by paramedics.

The incident prompted Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service to issue a warning to walkers on Twitter.

“With the wet weather of late, if you're planning a walk in the New Forest please keep to the designated paths,” the tweet said.

Severe disruption for rail commuters ensued as flooding caused a track circuit failure at Sway, blocking all lines between Brockenhurst and Bournemouth.

South Western Railway first reported the issue, affecting services run by both it and Cross Country, on Saturday morning.

The lines were blocked this morning (Monday), with an update by SWR stating disruption was expected to continue until the end of the day.

Commuters were warned trains running through affected stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised.

“We have been informed that there is a track circuit failure between Sway and Hinton Admiral due to flooding of the line,” an SWR statement said.

Tickets for affected routes were being accepted, at no further cost, on Cross Country trains between Bournemouth/Southampton Central and Reading.

A Network Rail Wessex Twitter post yesterday (Sunday) morning urged New Forest customers to check with SWR before travelling.

It warned no services between there and London, in either direction, were currently available.

“We are so sorry for this extra disruption after yesterday’s floods – it has been a very difficult weekend for customers and we can only hold our hands up and apologise,” the tweet added.

Local police on Facebook warned on Saturday afternoon of flooded roads, including Hordle Lane, Everton Road, Sky End Lane and Silver Street in Hordle.

“Do not attempt to drive through heavy water,” the post said.

One marooned car had to be rescued by the nearby ANTOS Garage from floodwater at the junction of Sky End Lane and Everton Road on Saturday.

Two DPD delivery vans were also seen parked up in Sky End Lane that day, having fallen foul of the water.

Motorists and cyclists were seen negotiating heavy flooding through the centre of Brockenhurst this morning, while drains overflowed in Lower Pennington Lane, Lymington.

Warning some Christchurch roads were “impassable in places”, a Christchurch fire station Twitter post said its wading teams had responded to various flooding incidents by 10am today.

One call-out early this morning was to Matchams Lane at Hurn, which ended up being shut due to flooding. Motorists were urged to adjust their routes accordingly to avoid delays or getting caught in floodwater.

A large tree was reported to have slid into the River Stour and become lodged up against the bridge in Bridge Street on Saturday.