Heavy rainfall follows heatwave

Storms in Brighton led to a month of rain in an hour

High heat and humidity gave way to thunderstorms in the South East on Friday evening with heavy rainfall and minor floods across the region.

East Sussex fire crews had more than 100 calls in two hours to incidents including floods and lightning strikes.

On Thursday, the Environment Agency had warned that the region faced similar conditions to those in Yorkshire which led to devastating floods.

Storms broke out on Friday after cold air moved in from over the Channel.

In Brighton, a month of rain fell in an hour, with similar levels predicted across Kent and Sussex.

One lightning strike near Lewes led to crews in six fire engines tackling a fire at a business park.

In warnings earlier in the week, the Environment Agency had warned people to keep an eye on weather and flood forecasts to help protect lives, businesses and property.

It said that the region was in the grip of one of the severest drought periods in the last 100 years.

Recent high temperatures had led to rivers starting to dry up with aquatic life seriously affected.

The Lavant in West Sussex had not flowed Chichester and carp had to be rescued from a failing lake in Greenhithe, Kent.

A hosepipe ban is currently in force in North Sussex and Southern Water has said coastal areas of Sussex could be next in line for water use restrictions.