Storm Bert left a trail of destruction in its wake as roads were flooded and events cancelled. 

Heavy rain and strong winds battered Southampton and the surrounding areas at the weekend.

Southampton alone was hit with gusts of up to 53mph and extremely heavy rainfall, leaving city Christmas market traders with minimal footfall.

Louise Hebborn, of the Olde English Fudge stall at Southampton Christmas MarketLouise Hebborn, of the Olde English Fudge stall at Southampton Christmas Market (Image: Newsquest) Louise Hebborn, of the Olde English Fudge stall, said: "It has been quieter this weekend, particularly on Saturday with the rain.

"It was actually better a few days ago when it was colder, I think it felt a bit more Christmassy and more people were around.

"I think people were put off yesterday with the rain and as much as it's really windy today, it has been better.”

Jasmine Santi, from Wawki, a South American craft stall, said: "Today has not been too bad but yesterday we were very quiet as it was worse with the wind and the rain.

"Nobody was walking past in that weather."

READ MORE: Flood alerts issued for Southampton as Storm Bert hits

Meanwhile in Netley, a power cable toppled over forcing the partial closure of Portsmouth Road at the junction with Grange Road.

Police officers and firefighters were called to the scene on Saturday morning.

The issue was resolved and power was restored later in the afternoon.

The Portsmouth Road closureThe Portsmouth Road closure (Image: Newsquest) In Fawley, more than 500 homes were left without power after an outage on Saturday.

The “unplanned fault” was said to be affecting several streets until it was fixed by engineers later that day.

Further north of Southampton a man died when a tree fell.

Hampshire Constabulary said the tragedy happened on the A34 southbound near Winchester on Saturday morning.

The man in his 60s, who was driving a black Mercedes, was confirmed dead at the scene on the A34 southbound carriageway, between Kings Worthy and Winnall, and the force is investigating whether the incident was linked to the weather.

Strong winds also forced the closure of Hythe Pier and Train on both Saturday and Sunday, meanwhile further afield, the Winchester Cathedral Christmas Market was cancelled on Sunday.

Organisers said: “Assessments have been carried out this afternoon and the decision has been made to close Winchester Cathedral Christmas Market immediately due to safety concerns.”