The A31 Alton Road was closed for another five hours from Bentley to the Coxbridge roundabout on Friday because of flooding.

Surrey County Council confirmed the road had been closed for a second time in just over 12 hours shortly after 10am on Friday. It reopened at around 3.30pm.

It comes after the road was closed by police on Thursday evening after as many as 20 vehicles became stranded in flood water.

Heavy rain fell on ground already saturated by water during Storm Henk on Tuesday afternoon and evening, causing flood water so deep it spread across the A31 central reservation in some places.

Many other local roads were rendered impassable by flooding, including the A325 between Bordon and Farnham, the A339 from Alton to Basingstoke, and the A272 Winchester Road near Petersfield.

One of two lanes was closed on the A3 between A272 (Petersfield) and the B3006 junctions in both directions.

Sophia Trappitt reported the water reached "knee level" on the A31 opposite Farnham House Hotel and added her mum crashed her motorbike "as she didn’t see the water before it was too late". The flooding – and stricken bike – remained there on Friday morning.

Hundreds of homes in Elstead were left without power on Thursday night as a result of fallen power lines down affecting a substation in the Red House Lane/West Hill area.

The heavy rain also prompted appeals by Farnham councillors for aerial photographs of flooded fields to use as evidence against inappropriate housing development.

Haslemere's Christmas tree was another victim in the town's High Street, collapsing under the weight of the rain and winds.

Photographs were shared online showing Alton's Mill Lane and Omega Park industrial sites under water after the River Wey seemingly burst its banks.

Fences were also washed away in Sheet after the Ashford Stream burst its banks, with homeowners saying they had "never seen anything like it".

A long-time resident of Lymington Bottom in Four Marks, Laura Moore, also said "in nearly 50 years of living in Four Marks we have never seen the road so flooded like this" and Holybourne locals shared similar sentiments.

The water looked so deep under the railway bridge in Lower Weybourne Lane, Farnham, that sea cadets from the nearby TS Swiftsure must have been tempted to get their dinghies out.

And there were numerous reports of good samaritans bringing 4x4s to the rescue of people stranded in the floods.

Fallen trees also proved a hazard on many roads, with several trees having to be removed on the A31 between Farnham and Alton, and another blocking the A325 near Birdworld between Farnham and Bordon.