SUSSEX was battered by a storm overnight and over the course of the day which caused minor flooding and blew several trees over.

The storm came as The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning to lots of different parts of the UK, including the south coast.

It was said to have come from the Atlantic Ocean, with some wind gusts reaching up to 44 mph.

As a result, several trees fell on Sussex’s roads and the A23 saw flooding on the highway, while buses had to cancel services.

 

The Argus: Heavy winds battered Sussex.Heavy winds battered Sussex.

The Black Rabbit pub in Arundel had a tree fall on it around 10am, which seemed to cause minor damage.

Meanwhile the wind picked up various debris, with a large plastic sheet getting stuck on the electric conductor rail between Bognor Regis and Barnham at around 9.30am.

Network Rail operators had to close the line temporarily to unravel the plastic sheet before reopening the service in West Sussex.

Stagecoach bus company also had to cancel various services in the Pulborough area in West Sussex due to fallen trees on the road.

While there was also a three-car crash on the M23 northbound on junction nine near Gatwick. The road was reopened just after 10.55am.

Slightly south of that, the A23 at Pease Pottage was said to have experienced “severe” flooding on one of the lanes according to one motorist.

 

In the centre of Brighton and Hove, a tree fell just outside Hove Town Hall in Norton Road with one councillor describing it as “devastating”.

The Argus: Left shows fallen tree outside Hove Town Hall. Right shows fallen tree outside Black Rabbit pub in Arundel.Left shows fallen tree outside Hove Town Hall. Right shows fallen tree outside Black Rabbit pub in Arundel.

Gary Wilkinson, Labour councillor for Central Hove, added: "The tree has been there for as long as I can remember and is well known to local residents in central Hove and visitors alike. It has regularly been lit up at Christmas in the past."

Videos of Brighton Marina and the seafront showed waves battering the harbour wall and the beach.

By around 12pm, the torrential rain cleared but the wind has remained all day. However, the gusts have reduced as the afternoon has progressed and there is expected to be a mild breeze by about 9pm tonight as the storm moves over to the North Sea.

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