BATTEN down the hatches - heavy rain and high winds are set to batter Hampshire.

The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning ahead of a deluge of heavy rain hitting the county at the weekend.

It comes just weeks after parts of Hampshire were hit with flash flooding that caused road closures. 

A yellow 'be aware' alert is in place for Saturday from 6am until just before midnight.

The Environment Agency has issued a flood alert for groundwater flooding in Hambledon.

The organisation says some properties, particularly in Lower West Street, could be affected by flooding in cellars.

Forecasters warn 20-30 mm of rain is expected to fall with 40-60 mm possible on south-facing slopes.

This will be accompanied by gusts of 40-50 mph inland but locally 60 mph on south-facing coasts.

But the rain and gales are expected to clear from the west during the evening.

A spokesman said: "As this rain will be falling on near-saturated ground, please be aware of the risk of localised flooding and perhaps some disruption to travel.

"An active, complex frontal system is expected to affect the area on Saturday. As relatively warm, moist air is drawn up from the southwest on the strong southwesterly flow, heavy rain is expected. There may also be short periods of locally quite intense rainfall embedded within the relatively broad rainfall area. There is some uncertainty regarding the eastward extent of the heavy rain across southern England and this warning will be updated as new information comes available."