Brighton fire disrupts Southern train's Gatwick service

Passengers at Haywards Heath faced long delays following the fire at Preston Park

Rail services to Gatwick Airport and across Sussex have been cancelled or delayed because of a fire in Brighton.

Passengers planning to travel between Brighton, Haywards Heath, Gatwick Airport and London have been warned to expect delays of up to 90 minutes.

Southern Railway said services between Brighton and Lewes had been suspended following the fire at Preston Park.

Disruption is expected to continue into the weekend while engineers carry out repairs to damaged cabling.

Up to 1.5m people are expected to travel through Gatwick between 17 December and 2 January.

Rail replacement buses

Rail replacement buses are running between Brighton and Lewes and Brighton and Haywards Heath.

In a statement, the company said: "A major signalling problem is causing disruption at Preston Park.

"This has been caused by an overnight fire, which has affected electrical cables and a line-side signalling equipment cabinet."

It urged passengers to check the Southern Railway website before travelling.

Southeastern said it would accept Southern Railway tickets for services on its trains between Hastings and London terminals.