Residents express anger at repeated floods in town

Southern Water said torrential rainfall coupled with a high tide had overwhelmed the system

Hastings residents have spoken of their anger after a major flood damaged homes and businesses in their town again.

Priory Meadow Shopping Centre was evacuated on Saturday as streets flooded with water following heavy rain.

One flat owner told BBC South East flood water had now damaged her property four times.

Sarah Lake said: "I'm a single mum, this is all I've got and it's worth nothing now."

Hastings resident Sarah Lake said her flat was destroyed by floodwater

The flooding happened just one week after East Sussex County Council published a report into a previous flooding in Hastings.

It said floods in January were caused by unusually heavy rainfall coinciding with a high tide, an overflowing manhole and a partially-blocked sewer.

Ms Lake said: "This has happened to me four times now in the last two-and-a-half years.

"My property is now not fit for purpose. I can’t sell it, I can’t rent it. I can’t live in it. It’s completely useless."

Derek Miller said his business could be forced to close

Restaurant owner Derek Miller said he could no longer get insurance after the repeated floods.

"I've spent 12 years here. We've gone through Covid, we've gone through cost of living, energy and at the moment we are just about keeping our head above water.

"This, if nothing is done, could cause us to close," he told the BBC.

Conservative MP for Hastings and Rye, Sally-Ann Hart, said residents were experiencing "deep anger, frustration as well as tears".

She said flood management work was needed and all agencies had to work together to resolve the issue.

Southern Water's head of waste water said the company was committed to finding a solution

Bob Collington, managing director of waste water at Southern Water, said a meeting with residents earlier on Monday had been "difficult".

"It's many times that these residents have been flooded and had their lives disrupted.

"We deeply regret that and we are absolutely committed to finding a long term solution."

Meanwhile, the Met Office has issued a yellow warning for Wednesday and Thursday, with Storm Ciaran forecast to bring strong winds and heavy rain.

The Environment Agency also has multiple flood warnings in place for East and West Sussex, including for Seaford, Alfriston and Climping.