A race at a Sussex racecourse has been cancelled due to heavy rain.

The BetGoodwin Christmas Raceday at Plumpton Racecourse, near Lewes, had been due to take place this afternoon.

However, due to downpours yesterday and overnight, the race has been abandoned.

In a statement, the racecourse said: “Unfortunately, we have had to abandon today’s race meeting due to waterlogging.

“We have had a total of 37mm [of rain] over the past 30 hours and have standing water in places on the track.

“There is no prospect of improvement with rain forecast through the day.

“We are very sorry for the inconvenience. All tickets will be refunded by the end of December latest.”

A yellow weather warning for rain is in place for parts of Sussex until 6pm this evening.

The Met Office has warned of the possibility of flooding of homes and roads, with bus and train services facing disruption due to the severe weather.

A spokesman for the weather service said: “Heavy rain will affect parts of southern England, south Wales and the southwest Midlands during Monday. 20-30mm of rain will fall widely, with a few places seeing as much as 40-60mm.”