storm closes parade

Wind and rain over the weekend meant building work above Queensway Parade, North Road, was damaged and the area, which includes several shops and a car park, was closed to the public on Monday while it was made safe.

Alan Gibbs, from building firm Gibbs & Sons, which is handling the construction work, said: "It took a lot of the building work down, the reason being that it's a large area and it's exposed.

"It took a large amount of brickwork down and it affected other brickwork which had to come down as well."

Members of Adur Watch were also called to the scene and the road into the parade was closed for the day.

Mr Gibbs said his builders made the site safe. With the continuing bad weather, they waited until Tuesday morning before re-opening the shops and the car park behind the parade was re-opened later that day.

Adur Watch was put on stand-by on Tuesday night as winds of more than 60mph hit the coast. An Environment Agency spokesman said although the winds had reached gale-force nine, there had been insufficient rain to issue flood warnings in the area. The agency would continue to monitor the situation, though.