Christmas attractions closed after stream floods

Bourne Stream overflowed on Saturday following heavy rain

Flooding has forced the temporary closure of part of a town's Christmas attractions.

A Christmas train, Santa's Workshop and festive mini golf in Bournemouth's Lower Gardens were among the features affected by floodwater on Saturday.

It happened when Bourne Stream, which runs through the gardens, overflowed following heavy rain.

By Sunday morning, the water had receded and events staff were working to reopen the attractions. The ice rink and Christmas market are unaffected.

Lower Gardens and some of the attractions were partly submerged

Simon Smith, of Bournemouth Christmas Events, said: "We had a lot of rainfall yesterday, which burst the Bourne Stream and flooded a lot of the lower section of the gardens, right down from the ice rink to the beach on the Pier Approach.

"A lot of the equipment was under water - the train, a lot of the lights...

"Everyone has been on site this morning - a really good response from parks department, electricians and our events staff.

"The park is open this morning so all the markets and the ice rink are open as normal and everyone can walk through the whole gardens.

"As of this morning in daylight, you might not notice too much difference.

"We are working hard to get everything back on as quickly as we can."

Some of the attractions were closed on Saturday night

In a Facebook post on Sunday morning, organisers said: "Santa's Workshop will be open from midday with all workshops going ahead as planned plus a special visit from Santa himself.

"The Christmas Tree Maze is also open as normal.

"We are continuing to work on Festive Golf and hope to have it open as soon as possible.

"Anyone with a booking will be contacted directly. Thank you for your understanding and support while we bring the magic back to Christmas Tree Wonderland."