GROUNDWATER and river levels continue to threaten the county with a risk of flooding.

In Patcham and Portslade, groundwater is rising worryingly with a flood trigger level expected to be reached .

And in Arundel, a hastily-shored-up flood wall held back the Arun after round-the-clock efforts by an inter-agency taskforce.

Nine homes had been evacuated in the aftermath of the wall’s disintegration on Friday and over the weekend Environment Agency(EA) contractors used a crane to deploy nine one-ton rock bags into the Arun to attempt to stabilise the wall.

Specialist pumps were kept on standby ready to ameliorate the damage should the worst happen.

The defences held at yesterday’s high tide and although water reached some gardens, the environment agency reported “no ingress of water” into homes.

The flood trigger level of 40m above the “ordnance datum” point (OAD) is expected to be reached in Patcham this morning, following further rain yesterday.

This will lead council officials to distribute flood advice to residents, although in a statement Brighton and Hove City Council added that flooding does not usually occur until the level reaches 45m OAD.

An EA statement said: "Following the recent rainfall the ground across Sussex is saturated and we currently expect a wet and unsettled period of weather this week.”

The Met Office has predicted “frost, wintry showers or even snow affecting many areas of the UK” this week, warning that this will be the first time truly wintery weather arrives.

Forecasters are predicting a wet start to the week, with wintry showers especially on high ground.

Motorists, pedestrians and cyclists are being warned of the risk of frost and ice on roads.

On Sunday the Met Office issued flood warnings for the Arun and three other major Sussex rivers.

The Uck and Ouse were reported to have returned to more normal levels, but residents nearby were warned to remain prepared for the risk of flooding to increase in line with predicted rainstorms.

The Cuckmere is high but experts expected levels to fall in the absence of significant rainfall before Thursday.

In Alfriston, where The Argus reported the River Cuckmere was running at ten times its usual width on Friday.

Roland Couch the owner of the George Inn, said there had been no change to the swollen waterway yesterday.

Concerned residents can check flood risk at https://www.gov.uk/check-if-youre-at-risk-of-flooding.