Weather warnings as South East prepares for storm

Some areas have already flooded, including Alfriston in East Sussex

Businesses, attractions and schools across the South East are preparing for Storm Ciarán.

Brighton and Hove City Council is closing all public toilets and cemeteries.

It has cancelled waste collections and warned people not to go near the seafront, parks, woodland or open spaces.

The Kent Resilience Forum (KRF), a group of organisations that prepares for emergencies, has also warned residents to stay away from seafronts as “it is not worth risking your life and others for that selfie.”

The Met Office has issued yellow and amber warnings - indicating potential risks to life and property - for wind and rain in southern England.

Flood warnings are in place across Kent, Sussex and Surrey and gusts of up to 70mph are expected in exposed areas of the south coast.

Some areas have already flooded including fields and pathways surrounding the Cuckmere river in the village of Alfriston in East Sussex.

Meanwhile, Hastings is bracing itself for more heavy rainfall after its shopping centre flooded at the weekend for the second time this year.

St Wilfrid's Catholic Secondary School in Crawley and ARK Blacklands Primary Academy in Hastings will not open on Thursday while St Leonards Academy will open later in the morning at 09:50 GMT.

East Sussex College in Eastbourne is moving its lessons online for the day.

Worthing Pier and National Trust property Scotney Castle in Kent are also closing for the day.

A centre in St Leonards is opening for rough sleepers to stay the night on Wednesday and Thursday.

Predictions of 20-30mm of rain come just days after Hastings centre was flooded

John Bownas, from the Hastings Business Improvement District, said: "The town is charged with water underneath, and anything that comes on top of that is going to be a massive problem for us."

Hastings Borough Council said its overnight centre was open from 18:00 GMT at the Seaview Project in Hatherley Road and offers rough sleepers hot drinks, food, showers and dry clothes.

Kate Davidson, from Hastings and Rother Furniture Services said the company had paused its clear-up after Saturday's flooding.

She said: "We are worried, hence why we're tidying up, we're not cleaning up.

"We don't want to clean this place up and then have to do it all again tomorrow."

Flood warnings are in place for the Upper River Wey at Guildford and Godalming in Surrey.

Stretches of the River Thames and the River Mole at Leatherhead and Dorking are also covered by flood warnings issued by the Environment Agency.

Organisers of one of Surrey's biggest bonfires, at Brockham near Dorking, say they are "closely monitoring" the weather warning in case they need to change their plans for Saturday.

They said access to the village may need to be restricted.

A flood warning is in place on the River Mole at Leatherhead

Kent Resiliance Forum's tactical lead Toby Howe said the predicted wind on Thursday was a "real concern" with the potential for trees to fall on powerlines.

The KRF was working closely with utility providers to mitigate the impact, he added.

East Sussex College posted on X that it would close all of its campuses and move lessons online.

Southern Water said it was ready to attend any emergencies with staffing levels doubled over the next few days, and routine maintenance suspended.

Tim McMahon, water managing director for Southern Water, said: "Wind is probably the area I'm most concerned with.

"The 90mph winds is pretty significant and could lead to the loss of power which could impact our ability to take waste away, or supply water to customers.

"We're working with the power companies to protect our supplies."

He said the company had secured 40 mobile generators to try and keep its sites working.

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