Hastings shopping centre evacuated after major floods

A shopping centre has been evacuated after heavy rain caused major flooding in an East Sussex town.

East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service said it was dealing with flood water at the Priory Meadow Shopping Centre in Hastings.

Social media footage showed deep water had entered the centre through an entrance on Station Road.

The fire service warned people to avoid the area and said it was "continuously monitoring the weather".

It added: "Public safety is a key priority and we would ask members of the public to only contact us in relation to flooding where there is a risk to life."

Earlier, it urged residents to move their cars from the town centre, where streets had been flooding.

The flooding in Hastings comes as forecasters warn of continued heavy showers and strong winds elsewhere in the UK during the weekend.

Areas in London and the south of England, the Highlands and north east of Scotland and Northern Ireland are all set to be lashed by rain over the next few days.

Michael Turner, an environment manager at the Environment Agency, said the situation in East Sussex was "rapidly developing".

He told BBC Sussex: "We have had heavy rainfall across Sussex, up to 50mm (2in) at Hastings, which is a substantial quantity in a short period of time.

"That is causing river levels to rise across Sussex as well as causing surface water flooding."

Kate Davidson, chief executive of local charity Hastings and Rother Furniture Service, said she had lost thousands of pounds in damaged stock.

She told BBC South East: "We have seen furniture all over the place, sort of floating around. It's just heart-breaking."

Posts on social media show affected areas include Hastings seafront, the town centre and Alexandra Park.

William Sparcia, who owns Sculpture Salon in the town, said his basement was under water.

He said: "It is a disaster. Rain is rain - we understand that - but this was completely predictable."

The flooding comes just eight days after East Sussex County Council published a report into a previous episode of severe flooding in the town.

It said flooding in January, which also affected the Priory Meadow Shopping Centre, was caused by unusually heavy rainfall coinciding with a high tide, an overflowing manhole and a partially-blocked sewer.

At 17:00 BST on Saturday, the Environment Agency had multiple flood warnings in place for East and West Sussex - including for Crowhurst, Hellingly and Horsebridge, Alfriston, Seaford, Amberley, Arundel, Climping and Bersted.

Met Office forecaster Dan Stroud said there was a yellow rain warning covering London and the south-east until the end of Sunday.

"We are talking about fairly heavy rain, 15 to 30mm," he said.

"Some spots could see highs of 50 to 70mm with some strong, gusty winds."

A spokesperson for East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service said there were no formal plans to evacuate homes for now.

It said it was "continuously monitoring" the weather and would "continue to mobilise resources as necessary".

Meanwhile, trains between Hastings or Eastbourne and Ashford International are running at a reduced speed due to a signalling fault, Southern Rail posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The train operator said it was informed lightning had damaged the system.

Mr Turner said more rain was forecast and the Environment Agency was also worried about extra high tides, combined with large waves being driven on by an onshore wind.

He urged people to remain vigilant, to pay attention to flood warnings and not to drive through flood water.

"Just 20cm of flood water can lift your car up and wash it away," he warned.

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