Storm Darragh as it unfolded in Sussex: 60mph winds and travel chaos

The storm brought gale force winds, torrential rain, damage and disruption to Sussex this weekend as thousands faced issues due to the weather.

In Brighton, traffic was brought to a standstill on Saturday afternoon after stonework from a city centre building came crashing down to the pavement below.

Firefighters from East Sussex Fire and Rescue service closed off Western Road near Churchill Square as they tended to the building above Ann Summers, chipping away at any loose debris to make the building safe.

Nearly a dozen buses queued up in front of Churchill Square towards The Clock Tower and crowds of shoppers stood to watch the emergency services at work keeping the city centre safe from harm.

Dozens of trees were torn from their roots and trains ground to a halt across the county after a Met Office weather warning brought 60mph winds to parts of the coast.

The gusts and rain came as the third named storm hit the county in a matter of weeks, bringing more disruption and danger with it.

Sussex braced for the weather on Friday evening as a yellow weather warning for wind began ahead of gusts forecast to hit 60mph.

Many events got ahead of the disruption by cancelling on Friday afternoon, with Brighton’s new Winter Fayre closed for the weekend after a tent pole was dragged down by the winds on its opening night.

Travel chaos at Three Bridges station on Saturday evening (Image: Eddie Mitchell)

Running events such as the seafront Parkrun on Hove Promenade and Santa Dash fun run were either cancelled or postponed due to the weather.

And other Christmas events including Saltdean’s lights switch-on and Santa’s Grotto in Brighton Marina were pushed back by Storm Darragh.

The worst of the weather began to hit at around 11am on Saturday morning, uprooting trees and causing chaos on the roads and railways.

St Peter’s Church in Selsey saw some of the first major disruption as its centuries-old yew tree came tumbling down onto the road.

A tree snapped in half in Offington Lane, Worthing (Image: Eddie Mitchell)

Businesses were also affected when Worthing Pier was once again forced to close briefly due to the gale force winds.

A collapsed bus shelter in Station Road, Hailsham (Image: Jamie Cheshire)

Restaurants Perch on the Pier and Tern were, however, able to re-open that evening to roar back into business after months of disruption due to damage to the pier.

On the trains, services to and from Three Bridges were delayed for hours after trees were dragged onto the line by the winds.

Taxis in front of the station queued to ferry away stranded passengers while works continued overnight on Saturday evening to try and re-open the railways.

In Horsham, another tree wreaked havoc on services to Pulborough when it tipped over in front of a Southern train, completely blocking its path.

And in St Leonards residents of a retirement block of flats woke to find cladding from their building crashing down onto the forecourt below, damaging balconies as it was swept away by the storm.

Fire crews attended to cordon off the damaged cladding and make the area safe before handing the scene back over to building operators Southern Housing.

John Cannan, Hastings Borough Councillor for Wishing Tree ward, said: “I was told by one of the residents what was happening and I saw the cladding had damaged a couple of balconies below.

“The fire service took it all off as it was blowing in the wind.”