Roads were closed, trees uprooted and parts of buildings ripped down by force ten gales which lashed Sussex at the weekend.

Travel schedules went into meltdown with flights from Gatwick Airport cancelled, train timetables suspended and motorists advised to stay off the road.

Raging seas led to cancellations of cross-channel ferries from Newhaven to Dieppe and the plug was pulled on fireworks at a bonfire night festival.

In Brighton, the chaos began at 11pm on Friday, when scaffolding surrounding the clock tower in North Road was blown loose.

Firefighters went to Stone Street at 11.30am on Saturday to secure iron guttering which had become unsafe.

A crew from Roedean had to nail down boards which had blown off a roof in Upper Rock Gardens, Kemp Town, two hours later.

One of Portslade's oldest landmarks was destroyed in scenes reminiscent of the 1987 hurricane.

The 100ft oak tree on the old village green was split in two in the early hours of yesterday. Ian Adams, of Overhill, Southwick, said: "It must be at least 100 years old. I'm sure they wont be able to save it."

Yesterday, spectacular 120ft waves crashed against the sea wall at Brighton Marina.

Firefighters were called to the Katarina pub at the marina when a rooftop billboard was ripped in two.

The dome on top of the restaurant had to be lowered to prevent it from being wrenched off.

Carol Cuthbertson, of Sussex Gardens, said: "I could hardly walk. I came through the gardens and under the tunnel and the wind was so strong. It was quite spectacular."

The Palace Pier in Brighton remained open to visitors willing to brave the winds but many of the rides were closed.

A traffic light in King's Road was blown to the ground, adding to the chaos on the roads.

Coastguards warned wave-watchers not to get too close to the sea as the high tide ripped up the beach - but were ignored by some foolhardy youngsters in Brighton.

A spokesman said: "They are dicing with death."

East and West Sussex fire brigades dealt with about 300 extra calls throughout the weekend because of the chaos.

Sussex Ambulance Service dealt with a number of minor injuries.

A spokesman said: "We had a steady flow of calls to incidents where people had been blown over or had been struck by falling objects.

"They were mostly confined to fractures and other minor injuries which needed hospital treatment."

Wind is thought to have triggered a burglar alarm in Western Road, Hove, just before midnight on Saturday. Neighbours rang police when the alarm continued to wail throughout the night until yesterday afternoon.

A tree in Hove Park had to be taped off for public safety yesterday afternoon when its trunk split.

Fireworks at Littlehampton's 50th annual bonfire event were cancelled on Saturday night amid fears the strong winds would blow the fireworks into crowds.

But the wind couldn't put a stop to all of the £15,000 festivities and a crowd of 50,000 watched the torchlight procession go through the town.

Richard Cooper, secretary of the Littlehampton Bonfire Society, said: "It was a splendid procession. Obviously it was a bit of a disappointment we couldn't have the fireworks but safety had to come first."

Worthing Pier was closed at noon yesterday after the shore was pummelled by fierce 61mph gales for more than an hour.

Mac Skeet, from the Worthing beach office, recorded a force ten gale which blew through the town at speeds of up to 70mph.

On Friday, metal fencing around the second floor of the former Litten Tree pub in Marine Parade was blown loose at 9.20pm and had to be secured.

At lunchtime on Saturday, sheeting was ripped from the front of a building in St Thomas's Road.

The A24 was closed for several hours yesterday after a fallen tree blocked both carriageways.

In Eastbourne, the pier was closed yesterday and a power line torn down by the wind crashed on to the roof of the British Queen pub, sparking a blaze.

Drinkers were evacuated as fire crews from Eastbourne, Hailsham and Pevensey arrived at the pub at The Triangle, Willingdon, at 7.10pm on Saturday.

Ambulance crews treated customers for shock and smoke inhalation.

Sub Officer Kevin Sharpe, said: "It snapped in the wind and short circuited, causing the fire."

Landlord Geoff Bennett said: "It was definitely something electrical and we think it was wind but the fire brigade will be investigating.

"The pub is 99 per cent intact and will hopefully get back to normal next week."

The strong winds drove rain into a basement flat in Cavendish Place at 1.10am yesterday.

Firefighters were called with pumping equipment to clear away the water.

Highway Agency workers cleared trees in Huggets Lane, Rattle Road, Stone Cross and Jevington Road, Jevington.

A 4sqft piece of lead was left dangling precariously from the roof of Barclays Bank above High Street, Polegate, after being blown loose.

The sheet slid to the guttering at the top of the three-storey building, overhanging the street, before it was retrieved by firefighters using an aerial ladder platform.

Force nine winds hampered a recovery mission after a woman in her 30s plunged 500ft off Beachy Head in her car.

The Ford Fiesta was spotted at the foot of the cliffs after the suspected suicide on Friday night but conditions prevented rescue teams from retrieving the body of the woman until Saturday afternoon.

Several BA flights from Gatwick were cancelled on Sunday because of the extreme conditions.

A BA spokeswoman advised passengers booked to travel to consult the web site at www.britishairways.com or phone 0845 77 999 77 for the latest updates.

Highways officers were called out to Haslett Avenue, Crawley, on Friday night after a tree was blown down, blocking the road.

Large sections of roof were blown off Our Lady of Heaven Catholic Primary School in Hare Lane, at noon yesterday.

Four cars were damaged in Oak Way, off Barnfield Road, after tiles from a nearby garage flew off in the gusts.

An AA rescue van was damaged in Barnfield Road when a tree branch fell on it.

A tree fell against a house in Sackville Close, East Grinstead, yesterday, damaging the wall.

Firefighters scaled a building to secure scaffolding which had come away from the front of a property in Queen's Road, East Grinstead, at 9pm on Friday.

Branches dangling dangerously from a tree across Arundel Road in Selsey had to be chopped down early on Saturday morning.

Rail speed limits were reduced to 50mph across the county. South West Trains cancelled its entire timetable yesterday, as many South Central London-to-Brighton services were delayed and several Thameslink services, running from Bedford to Brighton, were scrapped because of overhead line damage caused by falling trees and debris.

One disgruntled commuter said: "It was just chaos. I was stuck in London for more than two hours and nothing seemed to be happening.

"I thought there must have been a bomb scare or an accident but apparently it was just down to the wind."

Flooding added to the trouble on roads, causing delays on the A27 Chichester bypass, the A285 between Petworth and Duncton and the A24 at Findon.

West Sussex was left without BBC television and radio when its Heathfield transmitter was knocked out at lunchtime yesterday.