The clean-up operation continues after yesterday's flooding, lightning strikes and torrential hail.

Trains are operational again at Worthing Station in both directions, says Southern Railway.

About 4ft of water flooded the underpass between the station's platforms yesterday morning, with fire crews having to pump out the deluge.

The subway of Hassocks Station remains flooded, though trains are running as normal and passengers can still access all platforms.

Elsewhere, the Giggling Squid Thai restaurant in Hove remains closed after "hailstones the size of golf balls" destroyed the roof and flooded the building, according to its owner.

Homes in Hove and Portslade were worst-hit by the floods with roads in Mile Oak and Patcham submerged.

Brighton fire crews worked into the afternoon yesterday while a crew from Hove remained at Wilbury Grange, a block of flats in Hove, until 8.30pm last night, pumping out 2ft of water from its basement.

Simon Mander, 42, of Trafalgar Road in Portslade saw the storm take hold and flood a nearby house in Elm Road.

He said: "It was pretty intense."

Mr Mander was referring to a house belonging to Peter Freeman, 41, who lives there with his wife and two dogs.

Water came in through the back door and swamped the couple's kitchen and dining room.

He said: “We tried to put barriers up but we could only save what we could under the circumstances. It came 24 inches up the walls, past the plug sockets.

"We are devastated. The next step is working out the insurance. You have got to be British and keep a stiff upper lip.”

In the same road, Maryanne Stoner was clearing water out of her car "about a foot high" inside.

The Martlets Hospice reported that its warehouse was flooded with more than 100 pieces of donated furniture damaged.

The storm brought out all sorts of acts of kindness.

Dot McQueen, 62, staying in Clarendon Villas, Hove, was helped by a homeless man.

She was woken at 5.45am as flooding began outside her basement flat.

She said: “I was watching the hailstones and then the water just came cascading down the front steps and I thought, ‘Oh my God’.

“If we had opened the front door we would have had a wall of water coming at us.
”A homeless man, sheltering in the doorway of the flat above, came down and helped bale water out of the porch."

Ms McQueen added: “What a fantastic thing for that man to do. How generous. Lots more would have been damaged if he hadn’t helped us.

"We tried to offer him clean clothes, a shower, food and a drink but he went away without wanting anything.”