Flood alerts in south

The south suffered serious flooding last autumn

A series of rivers are being closely monitored after floods hit the south of England.

On Tuesday, the Environment Agency (EA) was watching the levels of rivers in Kent and Sussex.

Homes were flooded in the Brighton area.

EA teams reported that more than one inch of rain fell overnight on Monday.

The rain has come down so quickly that it has been unable to drain away fast enough and caused problems

Environment Agency spokeswoman

Gale force eight winds and gusts of up to storm force 11, reaching speeds of 110mph, had been expected.

An EA spokeswoman said problems had been caused by excess surface water, which had also affected areas of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

She said: "We have had sporadic reports coming in of people's basements getting flooded in Brighton.

"The rain has come down so quickly that it has been unable to drain away fast enough and caused problems."

River levels have started rising in the region, but the EA said they were not currently concerned about them.

"However, there are a series of rivers that are being monitored across Kent and Sussex.

Areas of flood watch

River Ouse, East Sussex

River Dart, East Sussex

River Tiese, Kent

Lower Tiese, Kent

Chichester to Selsey, West Sussex

"In the Selsey area of West Sussex, particularly, bulldozers were called in on Monday night to shore up shingle sea defences."

In the last two years, Selsey has been particularly badly hit by floods which have caused extensive damage.

On Tuesday, the Meteorological Office was reporting that the weather was improving in the south.

The office's website said: "Rain in the east is clearing and it is turning brighter from the west."

Weather teams at the BBC reported that there was one flood warning still in place on the West Sussex coast, from Chichester to Selsey.