Thousands of households across Sussex were left without power today following a fault on the electricity network.

More than 30,000 homes as well as several schools and businesses in West Sussex lost power for hours due to the outage.

It meant shoppers had to be turned away from Tesco superstore in Hammonds Farm, Burgess Hill, this morning.

Commuters reported not being able to print tickets at railway stations between Brighton and Haywards Heath.

The Argus: Shoppers were turned away from Tesco superstore in Burgess Hill due to the power outageShoppers were turned away from Tesco superstore in Burgess Hill due to the power outage (Image: The Argus)

Mid Sussex District Council said its telephone system was down as a result of the outage.

It also had to cancel its planning committee meeting.

A spokesman for UK Power Networks said its engineers were working as quickly as possible to restore power to the Burgess Hill area.

He said: “Following a fault on the electricity network in the early hours of today, we needed to turn off several thousand supplies in the area from 10am so that our engineers can safely inspect equipment at the site. This is taking longer than first anticipated.

The Argus: Another business in Hassocks which closedAnother business in Hassocks which closed (Image: The Argus)

“We understand how difficult it is being without electricity, especially during cold weather, and will reconnect supplies as quickly as is safely possible.”

Power was restored in Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath and Wivelsfield by around 1pm this afternoon.

One Haywards Heath resident said they were without power and mobile phone service from 9.30am until 1.30pm.

Landlines in parts of Sussex were also out of order.

Schools were forced to stay open despite the power cuts shutting down classroom heating.

The Argus: Power was largely restored in the early afternoonPower was largely restored in the early afternoon

Teachers were unable to contact parents by phone to let them know their children would be sent home.

Roads in Mid Sussex were clogged with cars after people were turned away from leisure centres, swimming pools and shops.

Accidents were reported on the roads as traffic signals stopped working.

Parts of Surrey, Sussex, Kent, Suffolk and Greater London were affected by power cuts throughout the morning.

Fewer than 20 households still have power cuts in West Sussex, while only five in East Sussex are still without power.

More than 50 households in Brighton have no power currently.