Flash floods cause chaos

FLASH floods and torrential rain brought chaos to Bexhill on Saturday morning.

Roads, homes and businesses were hit when a night of heavy rain was followed by an early morning downpour.

A newly re-lined water main burst in Terminus Avenue, sending additional water gushing down the road and round the corner into Westcourt Drive.

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There the road depression under the railway bridge is such a frequent source of flooding that "road liable to flood" signs are augmented by a depth gauge.

Mains water mingled with rain water to produce a flood of epic proportions.

The water stood at the three feet mark on the depth gauge as a Peugeot 106 drove straight into the water.

PC Chris Storey of the Bexhill Traffic Division base had already been dealing with flood water which had broken up the road surface, closing Sutherland Avenue near its junction with Little Common Road.

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Chris plunged straight into the Westcourt Drive flood, waded to the car and carried the driver to safety.

But the rescue was not over.

The frantic driver was calling "Lucy! Lucy! Come out."

Police returned to the car where they were unable to persuade the driver's collie-cross to emerge. Flood water was up to the level of the car's seats and the frightened dog was cowering in the back.

Miraculously, the car's engine was still running and police managed to drive and manhandle it out of the water.

With trembling Lucy back in her arms the Eastbourne driver said of police: "They are heroes, basically."

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Asked if the Observer could have her name, she said: "No you may not!"

The sudden heavy rain proved too much for some town centre premises.

Gutters and drainways full of leaves and the debris of a dry August, could not cope.

Floodwater brought down the ceiling at the front of Somerfields' Devonshire Road store.

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After firefighters had finished, staff undertook a swift mop-up job before admitting the first customers of the morning.

Firefighters from Pevensey assisted Bexhill colleagues, dealing with rainwater which had brought down the ceiling of estate agents Fox and Sons' Western Road office.

Financial services manager Ian Dawson's desk in the window was right under the falling water and debris.

His first thought? To rescue a cherished photo of his young daughter.

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Bexhill firefighters used special equipment to drain off up to 12 inches of rainwater which flooded the basement function room of the Wilton Pub in Wilton Road.

Cook Glynis Hale discovered the flood when she went into work at 7am.

Water had poured in through French doors beneath the walkway, causing damage to carpets and furnishings.

Once the firefighters had left, owner Roger Thompson began a major operation to get the room fit for the 70 guests who had booked the room for a function that evening.

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"We called in industrial cleaners," said Glynis, "who used these huge vacuums to suck the water off the carpet and by 1pm you would not have known there had been a problem, although the carpet was a bit damp. It has shrank back now and is ruined, but at least the party went ahead and everyone really enjoyed themselves."

Mr Thompson said: "Flooding problems were supposed to be over when major pipework was done on the corner of the Marina and Wilton Road, about 18 months ago," he added. "It doesn't seem to have done much good."

Water gushed through the ceiling of Walker's Cocktail Bar in Devonshire Square pouring over fuses and lighting sockets.

The cleaner alerted the fire brigade when she turned up for work. Firefighters isolated the supply and baled out the water from the ground floor bar.

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On Monday Peter Walker told the Observer: "The water was pouring through the ceiling from the flat roof portion at the front of the bar. The water came in at a great rate of knots over light fittings and fuses.

"We had to call in electricians to check everything over and opening was delayed for about an hour while we got four cleaners in to prepare the bar. Then at 12.30am on Sunday we discovered the alarms wouldn't set so had to call out engineers to sort it."

Staff arriving at Nationwide Building Society in St Leonard's Road found three inches of water in the front of the building and the computers down. Initially, only customers with urgent business were admitted. Computers were restored by 11.30am.

Elsewhere, owners of basement flats along the seafront were mopping up after water poured down steps to their doors. One owner said water had made a bit of a mess in his hallway.

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"There was about eight litres of water came down in the storm, but that is what you expect with flash floods."

And early morning motorists were caught yet again at a notorious flooding blackspot by the Athletic Club on Little Common Road, where anti-flood work is in progress. But most of the surface water had drained away by 9.30am.

The disabled parking spaces at the De La Warr Pavilion car park were also under inches of water for most of the morning.

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