Hampshire prepares for more flooding

Hampshire residents are bracing themselves for more flooding over the weekend as rainfall predicted in some areas on Friday night was up to 20mm.

Two primary schools shut on Friday and roads have been closed. One lane of the westbound M27 between junctions 9 and 11 will be closed all weekend.

Businesses are also affected with one pub landlord in Mansbridge calling it "the worst flood we've experienced".

Flooding is expected in particular near the rivers Test, Itchen and Meon.

'A rotten night'

Steve Hammond from The White Swan in Mansbridge, an area which has been flooded eight times in the last year, said his pub is under 10in (25.4cm) of water after being flooded three times this week.

"This week has been pretty horrendous," he said.

"Each flood has been even higher than the last one.

"What we're experiencing today is the worst flood we've experienced in my time."

There has been an average of 23mm of rain across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in the past 24 hours.

From 21:00 GMT on Friday another 10 to 15mm was predicted, in some areas up to 20mm.

Emergency services said Romsey and Winchester were most likely to be affected by rivers bursting their banks.

Island Line Train services were suspended due to a landslip caused by heavy rainfall in the Sandown area of the Isle of Wight.

Ch Insp Clive Marsh, police commander at the multi-agency Response Working Group, said: "We are expecting rivers to flood now and ground flooding to affect many roads."

Updates on road closures can be found on the Hampshire County Council website.