Weather causes a headache for Christmas Eve travellers

Motorists throughout he county face delays from fallen trees and flooding,

The A259 in Pevensey Bay blocked is currently (at 9.40am) blocked in both directions between the Coast Road junction and the A259 Wallsend Road junction, because of a level crossing failure, the A259 East Dean Road in East Dean closed around the B2103 Warren Hill junction, because of a fallen tree, the A27 Lewes Road partially blocked westbound between the A2270 Polegate By-Pass junction in Polegate and Drusilla’s Roundabout in Berwick, because of flooding.

Rail operator Southern is facing the same problems with the added problem of power failures on some lines.

Those hoping to travel by train also face a huge headache.

Southern Rail has suspended all of its services and is currently trying to repair the damage caused by last night’s storm but it is hoping to have some services up and running later this morning.

A statement on the company’s website reads: “The stormy weather overnight into this morning has caused considerable difficulties for our rail network and the surrounding road network.

“As a result, several lines of route are suffering from a combination of flooding, blockages from fallen trees, power supply failure or potential landslips.

“We will not be able to gauge the full extent of this damage or the prospect for operating services safely until daylight. Currently we are working closely with our colleagues in Network Rail to prioritize the clearing and proving of routes to be safe before trains can operate.

“This means that train services are suspended until this work is complete and we do not expect this to happen until much later this morning.

“We will update this site with our progress as we work to restore services and passengers wishing to travel today are asked to check before they set out for the station to ensure that services are running.

“Passengers are advised to check the latest travel situation before starting their journeys via southernrailway.com, nationalrail.co.uk or on Twitter @SouthernRailUK