WIDESPREAD FLOODING IN WEST SUSSEX

EMERGENCY services in West Sussex were working flat out on Friday as 999 calls for help flooded in after torrential rain started at 7.30am. Four inches of rain fell within an hour , causing disruption and delays on roads and railways, with parts of hospitals closed and schools shut.

People across Sussex were left counting the cost of the massive downpour - equal in some parts to two month's worth of rain.

West Sussex got off camparatively lightly compared to other parts of the country and East Sussex, where Uckfield was again devastated, and other parts of the country. Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill areas were amongst badly hit areas in West Sussex while the overall bill to Sussex as a whole is expected to be in the region of 30 million.

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Hundreds of flooded homes under inches of water and without power and all train routes across Sussex, including a substantial number between Brighton and London, were cancelled and severely disrupted.

Motorists are advised to avoid Royal George Road in Burgess Hill which was knee deep in water. Firemen were also called to floods in Junction Road and West Park in the town.

In Haywards Heath, the French Farmers' market was almost deserted in The Broadway which was under water, and parts of Victoria Park resembled a lake.

Surface water brought traffic chaos across the Horsham area as drains overflowed and basements flooded.Fire crews had to pump out several places, including Wimblehurst Road and Ashley Road.

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In Crawley a massive lightening strike directly over the town centre shook offices and shops as the emergency services set about dealing with reports of flooding in Balcombe and an accident on the A23.

Shortly after 10am, eight fire engines went to Worthing Hospital where corridors and lift shafts had been affected by flooding, with several basements affected, but the emergency services have stressed that no patient services were affected at any time.

For full story see West Sussex Gazette July 25