THOUSANDS of Sussex residents have been left without power as strong winds from Storm Ciara batter the region.

Power cuts across large parts of the county - including in Shoreham, Lewes, Polgate and Falmer - have been reported, with power not expected to be restored for several hours.

UK Power Networks previously warned of potential power cuts due to the extreme weather.

The Argus:

>> WEATHER LATEST HERE

The firm said on Twitter: "We’re aware of powercuts in Sussex.

"We have lots of tweets so cant reply to everyone quickly.

"We have extra engineers & they'll make repairs asap."