Melting snow and more rain brought flood trouble to Sussex today.

Firefighters pushed one car to safety when the woman driver found herself trapped in floods under a railway bridge.

Surface water slowed traffic to a snail's pace on many roads this morning.

Sussex Police warned drivers to allow extra time for their journeys, particularly at rush hour.

The good news is that the Met Office, which earlier issued a severe snow warning through to Thursday, today said the worst was now over.

Heavy bursts of rain are forecast today to be followed by showery spells through to the weekend, with temperatures climbing well above freezing.

High winds last night also took their toll.

Firefighters were called out when the roof of a house in East Beach Road, Selsey, was blown off.

There was flooding on the A27 between the Sainsbury's roundabout and Tangmere at Chichester this morning and several other major and minor roads around the county suffered surface flooding.

One woman driver was rescued after becoming trapped by floods under a bridge in West Coast Drive, Bexhill.

Yesterday, on the first official day of spring, heavy snow brought Sussex to a standstill.

Rush-hour traffic ground to a halt and journeys normally lasting 30 minutes were taking two hours.

Police said there were numerous minor shunts but no reports of serious collisions.

Drivers in Carden Avenue, Brighton, were forced to abandon their vehicles and to carry on on foot as conditions worsened yesterday afternoon.

There was a long traffic jam in Coldean Lane and Downsview Road, Woodingdean, was blocked from 4pm when a bus became stuck in snow, stopping traffic from getting through.

Motorists using Ditchling Beacon encountered severe problems as the snow made it almost impossible for cars to climb steep hills.

Similar problems affected Coombe Road, Freshfield Road, Elm Grove, Sutherland Road, Ditchling Road, Dyke Road and Wilson Avenue in Brighton.

Traffic came to a standstill on the A27 Brighton bypass, causing hour-long queues as rush-hour traffic was caught out by the icy road surface.

Builder Daniel Flynn, of St George's Road, Brighton, said: "It was absolutely horrendous out there.

"Traffic on Lewes Road was at a standstill and everywhere you looked there were abandoned vehicles, cars that had overheated and cars which had been involved in minor bumps and crashes. It took me nearly two hours to get from Hollingbury to Bevendean."

Brighton and Hove City Council sent out gritters yesterday afternoon.

A spokesman said: "We received the warning from the Met Office on Monday so we were well prepared."

Bus services in the city were badly disrupted.

Roger French, of Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company, said: "It was pretty difficult. There were parts of the city we could not reach and others where traffic was badly snarled up.

"This was the worst disruption we have had because of snow this winter. It was made worse because it started to settle very suddenly during the rush hour when a lot of people were out on the roads."

Gritters were also out on the roads of East Sussex. County council spokesman Martin Fitzgerald said: "Conditions were particularly bad on higher ground and a number of our staff had to leave early or face problems getting home."

Drivers on the A259 faced dangerous conditions.

Daniel Hempstead, of Seaside, Eastbourne, said: "It was especially bad heading out of Eastbourne on the A259 and around Birling Gap. At one point the fog was so thick I could hardly see a thing and a strong wind was blowing the snow into drifts.

"A lot of people seemed to panic and tried to turn back."

Argus logistics manager Steve Toon, said: "The weather caused chaos. Our delivery vehicles were getting stuck all over the place.

"We would like to apologise to any readers who did not get their papers on time."