PARK home residents spent Monday night in hotels while some stayed in their properties as the aftermath of Storm Dennis sparked flood fears.

Flooding following the weekend storm forced some residents at Iford Bridge Park Home in Old Bridge Road to leave the site.

More than a dozen residents spent the night in local hotels but the properties escaped without damage. Iford Baptist Church supported residents, serving as an evacuation centre, which closed yesterday.

Jonny Hodges, minister for the church, said: “We were just glad we could help and give them warmth and a cup of tea.

“It happened about seven or eight years ago as well.”

A resident from the homes, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “The council were very efficient, we just kept an eye on it. We are a bit higher than the others, so we were fine.”

A woman visiting from Moordown added: “It’s the worst I’ve seen it in my life. We have friends in a caravan park so came to check they were okay and it was all flooded.”

Storm Dennis also took its toll on Millhams Recycling Centre. The centre, on Ringwood Road, was closed because access to the site was flooded.

The council advised people to use Nuffield Recycling Centre as an alternative while they worked to reopen Millhams.

Last Monday, BCP Council began a clear-up operation on the promenade after Storm Ciara blew sand across it making it impassable.

11 miles of the promenade were affected and a tractor clearing the sand was seen in an operation that was set to take “many weeks”.

Teams from BCP Council were out clearing the beaches on Bournemouth’s coastline.

The storm closed roads and brought widespread flooding over the weekend and the promenade from Shore Road to Southbourne was left “inaccessible”.

The local authority said the route had been made inaccessible from Shore Road to Southbourne and the seafront team had been sent out to

Cllr Lewis Allison, BCP Council cabinet member for tourism, leisure and communities, said: “The occurrence of two powerful storms, one after the other, has caused some disruption to those visiting the seafront, with the unusually large amount of sand blown onto the promenade meaning that parts of it remain inaccessible to cyclists, buggy users and visitors with mobility issues.

“Fortunately, the storms have not caused any damage to beach huts or other seafront features and our beach cleansing teams continue to work extremely hard to clear the sand.

“Safety is our first priority and emergency access has already been secured along the seafront.”

Cllr Allison said the clean up could take several weeks to complete in full.