TWENTY-three people have been taken to safety due to flooding at an industrial estate in east Dorset.

Buildings have been damaged and “numerous” vehicles abandoned at Woolsbridge Industrial Estate in Three Legged Cross.

A spokesperson said: “The water is now affecting nearby industrial units so firefighters have so far brought 23 people to a place of safety.

LIVE: Flooding closes roads and railway lines - latest updates 

Bournemouth Echo:

“Volunteers from the British Red Cross, who operate from Springbourne fire station, are attending to provide support.

"The incident is on-going.”

The site has been largely closed off and firefighters are currently on the scene.

Bournemouth Echo:

One man told the Daily Echo at least 80 per cent of the ground floor of his building is covered in water.

Three people were rescued from their vehicles with another from a tree by firefighters from Verwood and a technical rescue team from Poole.

The fire service was called to the scene at 7.33am.

Incident commander David Hockaday, from Verwood Fire Station, said: “We were called to the industrial estate with what was three people trapped in vehicles, that was our immediate deployment to rescue those individuals using our water slide.

“Since we’ve been here, this water has raised probably half a metre in its deepest location.

“Then another building became involved so once we carried out the immediate rescues, we evacuated 23 people from the building and we’re currently awaiting local authority liaison to see if we need to carry out any further evacuations and try to assess just how high this water is going to get.

“Crews were deployed very quickly, people stayed in their vehicles which was good but this water is a lot deeper than people think.

“The public safety message here is don’t enter water that you don’t know the depth of, and they didn’t know the depth of it.”

More follows.