MORE than 20,000 homes are still without power in Sussex in the aftermath of Storm Eunice.

A mass clean-up operation has begun after the storm bought damage, disruption and record-breaking gusts of wind.

As of 6am on Friday, February 19, 12,800 homes in East Sussex and a further 9,700 in West Sussex were still without power.

A UK Power Networks spokesman said: “Storm Eunice caused significant damage to parts of the electricity network in the South East and East of England, after the worst sustained high winds we have seen in our region for years.

“The weather caused a month’s worth of faults in a day. Our equipment has been damaged in more than 1,800 locations.”

A total of 84 per cent of the affected sites have been restored by remote control.

“Now winds have subsided, engineers are working to locate, assess and begin repairing damage to restore supplies as quickly as possible,” the spokesman added.

“We will be prioritising damage affecting the largest groups of customers first. We are working hard to restore all supplies as quickly as possible, although this is a multi-day event.”

Nationwide, a total of 533,312 properties have had their power restored since the store.

However, there are currently 58,389 without power in the South East.

Do you, or someone you know, need extra support during a power cut? UK Power Networks can provide free services to customers who need it. Call 0800 028 4581 and ask about the Priority Services Register.

For widespread power cuts, UK Power Networks may be able to update you by text if the service is available for your area. You can check by texting POWER and your postcode to 80876. (For example, POWER IP3 8AA)

Please treat electricity cables as live, stay away and call us immediately 0800 31 63 105 or 105 (Free to call from a landline or a mobile phone). If you see electricity lines that are down or causing significant risk to the public please call 999.