Fires crews and police busy as rains lash Sussex

Emergency services were called to deal with scores of floods across the county overnight.

The Environment Agency had 28 flood warnings in place last night, citing rivers at risk of bursting their banks.

At Lodsworth, near Petworth, a family had to be rescued from their car because water on the road had risen past the bottom of the car door.

Firefighters from Midhurst reached the trapped passengers in a Land Rover and released them.

Crews across the county said they had been deluged with calls as home-owners struggled to stay dry in the worsening conditions.

A spokesman for West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said: "We've had lots and lots of calls about flooding to homes and roads in pretty much every area of the county.

"We've sent a lot of pumps out to help people pump the water out."

In Littlehampton town centre the drains could not cope with the heavy rainfall, causing sewage to back up through the pipes and onto the streets.

Parts of High Street, Beach Road, Church Street and East Street were covered in around a foot of sewage-soaked water.

Some ground-floor flats in nearby St Catherine's Road had to have water pumped from them.

Local councillor for the town centre Mark Butler said the rain fell "like a monsoon".

He said: "I've never seen rain like that before. It was coming down in sheets.

"The drains just couldn't cope and the smell from the sewage was horrendous."

In Fairlight, on the edge of Hastings, wind speeds reached up to 87mph.

Uckfield residents feared a repeat of the floods that ruined homes in 2000 after the River Uck burst its banks late tonight.

The town is still without flood defences despite repeated bouts of negotiations with the Environment Agency.

Barry and Lesley Sheraton lost thousands of pounds worth of furniture, books and electrical equipment when the river previously flowed into their home in Olives Meadow, Uckfield.

Tonight found them taking their most treasured possessions around to neighbours as the water levels rose.

Mr Sheraton said: "It got quite nasty, serious enough for us to start moving stuff out. We wouldn't have bothered before but having seen it once you don't take the chance again.

"If it starts raining steadily again we could be in trouble."

The county's busiest road, the M23, was closed in both directions because of flooding. Sussex Police sealed off the road between Junction 11 at Pease Pottage and Junction 10A at Crawley shortly after 6pm because conditions had become too dangerous for drivers.

Officers also briefly shut the A27 at Hammerpot, near Worthing.

Several other roads across the county were closed, including Crawley Avenue, in Crawley, and the A259 Claremont Road in Seaford. The A259 was also closed along Hastings seafront as waves crashed onto the road.

Henfield Road in Small Dole, near Henfield, and The Pike in Washington, near Storrington, were also blocked because of flooding.

Hundreds of drivers were forced to take diversions as a result of the closures.

Five cars crashed on the M23 between Junctions 10 and 10A.

Paramedics treated three people at the scene but none of the drivers or passengers was thought to have been seriously injured.

A dangerously loose television aerial was removed from a roof in Montague Street in Worthing.

Firefighters also had to remove a wood and perspex gazebo which had blown onto a first-floor roof in Cuckfield, near Haywards Heath.

A spokeswoman for the Environment Agency said today was due to be fairly dry but she warned that more rain had been forecast for later in the week which could cause problems.

She said last night (Tuesday): "Our main concern this evening is the rainfall that we were due to get between 5pm and 10pm but that seems to have passed quite quickly.

"We are not anticipating putting out any severe flood warnings and some of the rivers are starting to recede but others will take time to show how much water they have taken on."

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