Dorset motorists rescued by firefighters

Several motorists were rescued by firefighters in an inflatable boat after their vehicles became stuck in flood water in Dorset.

One man rescued by fire crews near Christchurch on Friday night had been stuck in his car for five hours.

A woman and a child were also rescued from a car on the West Stafford bypass near Dorchester.

Dorset Fire and Rescue Service said motorists were ignoring closed road signs and driving into the flood water.

Station manager Neil Rickett said: "It's up to waist and sometimes chest deep.

"We're searching ditches just in case people have got out of these abandoned cars, we've having to put a lot of resources into cars just stuck in water."