Sussex rail passengers faced delays on tonight's journey home caused by leaves on the tracks.

Network Rail warned of hold-ups as it battled to clear up the effects of high winds and heavy rain.

Severe weather hit much of Sussex last night and early this morning. Roads were swamped by flash floods and lightning struck homes.

A Network Rail spokesman said extra manpower and equipment was being brought in to deal with the problem of leaves on the lines and weekend engineering works were being stopped early to allow teams access to the tracks.

He explained that leaves on the line cost the industry about £50 million every year and was the railway equivalent of black ice on the roads.

When crushed, the leaves form a hard Teflon-like coating that makes train wheels spin. This could cause train delays and also damages the track.

Iain Coucher, Network Rail's deputy chief executive, said: "Although we cannot control the elements, we are constantly striving to improve the way we tackle the problems leaf-fall presents.

"This week will see the culmination of six months' worth of planning as we go all out to reduce delays caused by this weekend's heavy leaf-fall."

Paul Mott, a forecaster at the PA Weather Centre, said today's bad weather was sweeping in from western Ireland, bringing 25mph winds, gusting up to 50mph on higher ground. Much of the UK would also experience about half an inch of rain.

Lightning strikes and flash flooding caused havoc in West Sussex last night.

Firefighters had dozens of call-outs during yesterday and early this morning after chaotic weather conditions wrecked chimney stacks and flooded several roads.

Reports of lightning striking buildings in Bognor between 2.30am and 5am today brought crews from across the county to the seaside town.

The high voltage during a severe thunderstorm set off fire alarms at Bognor War Memorial Hospital and a number of nursing homes.

Four properties suffered electrical damage but one of the worst incidents was a direct lightning strike on a chimney stack in Park Road which showered the nearby area with rubble.

A West Sussex fire brigade spokesman said: "The remaining stack was leaning dangerously.

"An aerial ladder platform was summoned from Worthing to assist inspection by the building control officer and the main road through Aldwick was closed because of the danger of collapse."

Crews remained at the scene until the chimney was made safe.

Yesterday, the combined effect of high winds and trees shedding their leaves for winter led to street drains being blocked.

Worthing fire brigade Sub Officer Darren Wickings said there was flooding in Bedford Road, Orm Road, Warren Road, Winchester Road, the Thomas A'Becket area, Tarring High Street, Durrington Lane, Rectory Road and South Street in Worthing.

Water was almost a foot deep and Mr Wickings said: "Our crews were working in heavy rain to solve the problems, quite a few of which were due to leaves.

"We just started clearing them away so the water could drain off but some places did require pumping out."

Firefighters were also called to clear gutters at car dealership Baldocks, in Ditchling Road, Wivelsfield.

Torrential rain had caused the gullies to become blocked with leaves yesterday afternoon, leading to minor flooding in the offices.

A spokesman for the firm said: "We were having the roof replaced, because it normally floods in torrential rain.

"Leaves fill the gullies, and they are not tall enough, and water goes into the office. We had to mop the showrooms out, but there wasn't serious flooding."