Scores of trees have been flattened as winds of up to 50mph buffeted Sussex.

Trees were brought down across roads and rail lines while lightning lit up the night sky.

Weather forecasters say more rain is expected leading up to and including the weekend but it will not be as intense as yesterday morning.

Early morning rail services yesterday suffered cancellations and delays after a tree fell on the line near Durrington station, causing delays of up to 30 minutes before it was cleared.

Trees also came down across the county, blocking the A220 in Copthorne, the A285 near Ducton, the B2192 near Ringmer, the B2139 near Storrington and Dog Lane in Steyning.

Heavy rain also left large amounts of standing water on Lewes Road in Brighton.

Worthing Pier was also shut yesterday morning because of the high winds while Brighton and Hove City Council sent contractors to investigate flooding on the newly-refurbished The Level in Brighton.

Flooding also affected the A22 in East Grinstead and Gossops Drive in Crawley, while firefighters were sent to flooding in homes in Parchment Street and The Hornet in Chichester, Waterbeach Road in Goodwood and Twitten Way in Tarring.

Dan Williams, from the Met Office, said: “Rain will be pushing in late on Thursday or more like Friday morning between midnight or midday. It won’t be as intense as Tuesday night.

“There will be some pretty brisk winds from the west with a few showers around on Saturday and some showers and rain on Sunday.”

Teacher Dirk Mitchell, 58, from Rottingdean, took some incredible shots of waves crashing along the sea walls along Rottingdean Undercliff on Tuesday afternoon with his Samsung mobile phone.

He said: “At first I just watched from the cliffs but eventually I got braver and braver.

“I could see that every wave that broke and hit the wall, 95% of the power of the wave was being sent upwards and back into the sea so it was very unlikely for the water to come over.

“I like walking along the undercliff as I am recovering from heart surgery at the moment so walking is part of my rehabilitation.”