Strong winds caused damage and disruption across Sussex this weekend.

Storm Boelo follows Storm Austen, the first named storm of the season, which brought strong winds to parts of the UK on Friday (October 23).

A yellow warning for wind in Sussex was lifted on Friday evening, but severe weather has continued to batter the coast following the arrival of Storm Boelo.

Met Office Chief Forecaster, Jason Kelly said: “Storm Boelo will be felt across the UK this weekend, with the strongest winds and greatest potential for disruption in the north. Amber warnings are in place across mainland Scotland, parts of Northern Ireland and the far north of England, where gusts of 60-70mph are expected widely, with the potential for 80mph in exposed coastal locations.

Fire crews remove a fallen branch in Pilgrims Terrace, Worthing.

placeholder image — Fire crews remove a fallen branch in Pilgrims Terrace, Worthing.

“Strong winds will also affect other parts of the UK, with gusts of 50-60mph possible in places. Heavy rain will provide an additional hazard, particularly in the north, bringing the potential for further impacts."

The Met Office said people ‘should prepare for the potential for disruption, particularly to travel and power supplies’.

Thousands of Sussex residents have been left without power this weekend due to outages, many of which were caused by damaged cables.

UK Power Networks (UKPN) said it had brought in additional colleagues to help it deal with ‘a high number of messages’.

A UKPN spokesperson said: “As a reminder, strong winds can bring down trees and branches, causing damage to overhead power lines and electrical equipment.

"If you spot damaged equipment, stay at least 10 metres away, call us on 105 and 999.

"Stay safe and keep others away from the area.”

West Sussex Highways said its team handled 32 ‘fallen tree emergencies’ on Friday as strong winds battered the county.

Destruction continue on Saturday (October 24), and firefighters were pictured removing a fallen branch from an electrical line in Pilgrims Terrace, Worthing at around 5.30pm.

An increase in reports of fallen trees led West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service to issue the following statement: “Joint Fire Control has received a number of 999 calls this afternoon about fallen trees.

"Please only dial 999 if a tree is endangering life.”

Sussex Police also urged motorists to travel ‘only if your journey is absolutely essential’.

“If you do need to travel, be aware of the road conditions and be mindful of fallen trees or debris,” a police spokesperson said.