The A259 near Hastings had to be shut this morning for fears a roof could blow off a building and into the road.

Firefighters from East Sussex Fire and Rescue went to the building between Harley Shute Road and Filsham Road yesterday evening to reports of tiles coming from the roof.

It was too windy to use their aerial ladder platform and so crews returned this morning to reassess the situation.

But overnight the Met Office upgraded its severe weather warning for wind from yellow to amber with winds of up to 70mph.

Given the wind strengths, emergency services decided to close the road fearing the roof might blow off 

The strong winds also meant there were spped restrictions placed on Southeastern rail services.

Michelle Ulyatt, customer relations manager for Southeastern, said: “We’ve seen the wettest January in a century and the forecast of more heavy rain on top of this brings a real risk of further landslips, flooding and falling trees. For safety reasons, Network Rail has advised us to run trains at a reduced speed.

“We’ll work hard to provide the best possible service, but it is likely that journeys will be disrupted.

"Our customers should check before they travel and plan ahead to avoid potential delays. We’ll be providing further advice later in the week as the forecast for Friday and the weekend becomes clearer.”

And Gatwick Airport advised passengers to leave extra time for their journey amid predictions of high winds.