Bank Holiday Monday in the UK

It was a tale of two bank holidays yesterday. Across much of the north the sun shone and holidaymakers headed for the beaches, while in the south gale-force winds caused chaos, with almost a month's rainfall in a few hours.

The centre of the storm seemed to be the village of Otterbourne, Hampshire, where 57mm (2.2ins) of rain fell in an area where the average rainfall for the whole of May is 60mm.

Homes flooded in Hastings, East Sussex, and Chichester and Littlehampton, West Sussex. Roads were inundated on the Isle of Wight and all platforms at Southampton Central rail station were under water.

Phil Dominey, of South West Trains, said: "Of course, water and electricity do not mix so we have had to close the station for safety reasons. I have worked here for more than 20 years and it is the first time we have had to close Southampton Central because of flooding."

Across southern England torrential rain prompted the Environment Agency to impose 25 flood watches for low-lying land and roads. A Met Office expert said it was the wettest bank holiday they could remember.

A 13-year-old girl was killed by a falling tree in a park in Huddersfield. The girl, who has not been named, died in hospital after suffering head injuries. A West Yorkshire police spokesman refused to speculate if the tragedy was related to the weather but there were gusts of wind approaching 40mph in Yorkshire yesterday afternoon.

More than 60 firefighters were battling a blaze on moorland fanned by high winds in West Yorkshire. Fire chiefs said the fire stretched for two miles along the side of the A58 road between Lancashire and Yorkshire.

Smoke from the fire was being blown across a wide area, including Rochdale and Oldham.

In Gloucestershire the rain made one of the most bizarre holiday Monday events - the annual cheese rolling competition - even more hazardous.

Contestants from Japan, Australia and the US took part in the event, in which competitors chase a round of double gloucester down Cooper's Hill in Brockworth. Yesterday they were covered in mud and slime after just climbing the steep hill as the rain sheeted down.

The winner of the first race, Christopher Anderson, 19, was carried away on a spinal board after injuring his back as he tumbled past the finish line.

Bournemouth's seven-mile beach was deserted yesterday as 33mm of rain fell in a few hours - about half the resort's average rainfall for the month.

Strong winds damaged power lines in the New Forest, disrupting supplies to 70 homes, and brought down trees in Surrey. South Wales endured the strongest winds, with gusts of up to 60mph.

In Brockenhurst, Hampshire, three pensioners were saved by firefighters after their car skidded in floodwater and ended up in a river.

North-east England, western Scotland and Northern Ireland enjoyed the best of the weather, basking in temperatures of up to 20C (68F).

But more bad weather was sweeping across the south last night and heading north. The south is expected to be brighter today.