A PUB owner says he was attacked and abused while telling drivers to slow down amid road flooding.

Ian Wilson, 43, stood in Rottingdean High Street on Saturday night as the area was hit with heavy rain.

The downpours caused flooding in the road, which threatened to spill over into residents’ homes.

In a bid to prevent the water from flowing into houses, Mr Wilson, co-owner and chef of the Queen Vic pub, was telling drivers to slow down as they passed through the water.

But he said furious motorists began to drive at him, hurling abuse, and he was kicked in the chest by “a man incensed at being asked to drive considerately”.

The Argus:

He said: “One car decided to drive at me and I decided he didn’t deserve a wing mirror – he was very cross.

“Because he drove so close to me, I decided to swipe the wing mirror which went flying.

“Just as the fire engine arrived to pump us out, a guy came down the street, stopped and got straight out of his van.

“He starts throwing punches at me and kicks me in the chest.

“One of his mates got out and started having a go then one of the neighbours started screaming from out her window.”

Mr Wilson, who has owned the pub in the road for eight years, said flooding in the area has happened before.

When cars drive fast along the road, he says, the subsequent waves spill over into people’s properties.

He stood in the middle of the junction shouting “slow” at oncoming motorists for an hour before the fire brigade pumped the water at about 9pm.

Mr Wilson said his efforts were an attempt to protect his neighbours’ homes and he was shocked to receive the abuse.

He said: “All these people had to do was drive slowly pass me and everything would have been fine.

“It’s fair to say I absolutely lost it.

“I stood in the middle of the junction shouting.

“It was an entire pandemic’s worth of aggro – I feel great today, so it was extreme therapy.”

Flash floods caused traffic delays and problems across the county on Saturday night.

Trees and power lines toppled and blocked roads amid a yellow warning for wind and rain from the Met Office, which lasted between 7.40pm and midnight.