Southern Water has been working with a number organisations, including the Environment Agency, Fire Service and Local Councils, to limit the impacts of widespread flooding in East Sussex and Hastings.

The extreme rainfall experienced over the past week resulted in widespread flooding across the South East - the extreme weather conditions saw 60mm of rain fall in a 24 hours period at one point.

Following the recent heavy rain, there has been significant surface water flooding in the Hastings area. However, the flooding of Hastings town centre is not related – the water company said it believed this has been caused by a blocked surface water drain.

Southern Water is working closely with Hastings Borough Council and the Environment Agency to investigate and limit the impact of the flooding and any impact to customers. The utility’s teams brought in 150m of pipe to help run pumps to the tide line to remove excess surface water from the town centre.

Southern Water has been assisting with the clean-up operation as customers returned from the temporary accommodation they were provided with.

Southern Water’s Wastewater Pumping Site at Coombs has also been flooded, which has resulted in a release via the local storm overflow. Over the weekend the company’s teams have been on site checking for any debris and carrying out litter picks on the beach, if necessary. They have also been taking water quality samples to assess any environmental impact.