A ROAD closure has been put in place in Sandbanks for the second day running as visitors flock to the area.

BCP Council said the move has been carried out in a bid to “alleviate congestion in the area”.

A spokesperson said: “Due to heavy traffic we are restricting access to Sandbanks Peninsula to alleviate congestion in the area. Residents and @SandbanksFerry users will still be able to gain access. Please avoid this area if possible. Thank you.”

By 9am, seafront car parks were already full across the conurbation with BCP Council describing surrounding roads as “very full”.

Seafront car parks in Christchurch have also reached capacity, along with Mudeford Quay.

Yesterday, BCP Council and Dorset Police were praised for their actions which “avoided a small problem becoming a crisis”.

Chairman of the Sandbanks Community Group, David Morley, said: “It was dramatic, I have to say all credit to BCP Council and the police for getting ahead of the problem before it occurred.

“This would have been the busiest day of the year, normally it would be heaving.”

Today temperatures are set to reach the high 20s once again.

On Saturday, civic enforcement officers issued hundreds of fixed penalty notices to motorists.

By around 5pm, a total of 319 notices had been handed out with officers patrolling seafront car parks and surrounding roads until late in the evening.