Extra support for village flooding 'hotspots'

Residents faced significant flooding in January

Work to prevent homes in an East Sussex village being flooded with sewage and rainwater is under way, with 70 properties being surveyed by Southern Water.

Hellingly has experienced several instances of flooding in recent years, most notably when several properties were flooded with sewage following Storm Ciarán in November 2023.

With further floods in both 2024 and 2025, the water company says it has already committed £1.2m to repairs.

Project manager Samuel Jenkins said: "So far, sealing sewers and manholes has been successful in reducing groundwater forcing its way into our pipes and overloading the network – but we now need to go further."

The surveys are designed to see if Southern Water can completely disconnect surface water drains from sewers.

Mr Jenkins explained that, in places like Hellingly, high levels of surface water during and after rainfall "also increases the risk of sewers backing up and flooding gardens and even homes".

"That's why we are looking at ways we can keeping that surface water out of the system, at problem hotspots in the village," Mr Jenkins added.

The £1.2m allocated specifically to the village has been spent on sealing up to 2km (1.2 miles) of sewer pipes and manholes, and on investigating the impact of new development on the network.