Lightning struck at least eight times as severe storms swept chaos across the county.

Several buildings were hit by bolts of lightning while torrential rain and heavy thunder caused major disruption on trains and the roads.

Drivers found themselves struggling to cope as the treacherous conditions reached their peak yesterday afternoon.

There were also cases of flash flooding and some homes in the Brighton area reported temporary problems with their TV reception.

Many homes and businesses suffered power cuts, including some buildings at the University of Sussex, although power was quickly restored.

The weather was at its worst between 2pm and 3pm but had begun to improve by the early evening.

Firefighters were working at full stretch with two of the most serious incidents in Culpepper, Burgess Hill and Lyric Close, Crawley.

A tree was struck by lightening fell in Maresfield recreation ground. No injuries were reported during the incident at about 3pm.

Lightning hit the control tower at Gatwick Airport at around 2pm causing delays to some flights.

Other lightning strikes were reported in Bracklesham, Chichester, Three Bridges and Forest Row.

Fire crews were also forced to deal with a glut of fire alarms sparked by the lightning.

Train services were disrupted on the Brighton mainline between the coast and Gatwick after a bolt of lightning near the airport.

Houses in Cambridge Road, Hove, were among those without power.

A bolt of lightning also caused a power cut at Southlands hospital in Shoreham, but the emergency back up generator immediately started up.

Customers shopping at Marks and Spencer, at the Holmbush Centre in Shoreham, were told the tills were out of action because of the weather.

A spokesman for the Met Office said: “It was very active in the Brighton and Hove area and parts of East and West Sussex which caused a lot of disruption yesterday afternoon.

“We did forecast a severe weather warning ahead of it and we hope that helped reduce the number of incidents that happened.”