By ROB COOPER



I don't like to be beside the seaside: A torrent of water swept onto the beach causing lifeguards to run for cover. If you have any pictures of the downpour, please send them to mailonlinepictures@dailymail.co.uk



A mid-summer monsoon caused flash flooding across the South today as a fortnight's worth of rain fell in just 30 minutes leaving homes, shops and roads underwater.



The force of the rainwater caused huge cracks to open up along main roads and lifted manhole covers clean off, leading to fountains of water gushing out.



At a beach in Bournemouth - which is normally crowded with holidaymakers at this time of the year - water was flooding off the road, along the beach and into the sea.





The road cracked open in Bournemouth as thousands of gallons of water poured into the drains as two weeks rain fell in half an hour





The town's pleasure gardens were turned into a lake after being flooded, with barely a blade of grass visible.



Meteorologists said 30mm of rain - just over an inch - fell in a few hours which is just over half of a month's rainfall.



Some areas had a months worth of rain in a morning - with over 60mm falling in Bournemouth between 6am and midday. 56mm of rain falls in Bournemouth in an average August.





Flash flood: Bournemouth pleasure gardens were almost completely underwater after a fortnight's worth of rain fell in just half an hour





An army of 100 firefighters worked to pump floodwater away after being inundated with more than 70 reports of flooding in a 30-minute spell.



A ceiling at the Bournemouth International Centre concert venue collapsed under the sheer weight of rain.



A three mile section of the A338 - the main road into the seaside town - was also closed after being swamped by 3ft of water, bringing travel chaos to thousands of motorists.





An August morning? With a darkened sky this car was forced to put its headlights on as it edged through Bournemouth this afternoon





Going nowhere: Water laps up to the doors of a police car as it lies stranded in the rainwater





Water floods out of a drain as the sewage system fails to cope with the sudden downpour in Bournemouth





A bus station is flooded in the centre of Bournemouth. A whole months worth of rain had fallen by early afternoon





A road is partially flooded in the seaside town after half an hour of heavy rain





Washout: Firefighters were called out 70 times in an hour as tourist attractions were drenched in rainfall





Where's are the flowers? Bournemouth Pleasure Gardens today





No weather for shorts: A postman bravely cycles through the heavy rain





Wet wet wet: Water sweeps down from Boscombe Chine Gardens to the sea after 30mm of rain fell





'Anything over 4mm of rain in an hour is considered 'heavy' so this was well beyond that level.



'The rain was forecast, caused by a warm front over the English Channel which is heading north-eastwards, but the amount was underestimated.



'The forecast for Friday and Saturday is sunny and dry but that might be of little consolation to people hit by flooding today.'





Flashback: Sunseekers pack a beach in Broadstairs, Kent, two weeks ago as temperatures hit 29c



source: dailymail