East Sussex Highways took 218 storm callouts in one weekend, against about eight normally. Which roads beyond Brighton it covers and how to report a problem.
Highways crews on the East Sussex side of the city boundary were called to 218 incidents over the weekend as Storm Austen and Storm Boelo arrived one after the other, East Sussex County Council said on Monday.
The calls were mostly flooding and fallen trees. At the busiest point eight emergency crews were out at once. On a normal weekend, the council says, East Sussex Highways deals with around eight emergency callouts in total.
Saturday was the worst of it
Most of the calls came on Saturday, when the team handled 89 in the space of eight hours. The council named Hastings, Eastbourne and Bexhill as the worst hit areas.
Cllr Peter Griffiths, the county council’s lead member for transport and environment, thanked the crews:
“Keeping roads safe and passable in such challenging conditions is no mean feat and I am extremely grateful to our colleagues at East Sussex Highways for their efforts.
“On an average weekend, crews would probably deal with around eight emergency callouts which shows what a significant challenge they faced and what a great job they did.”
The county council has not published a breakdown by area, so there is no figure yet for Lewes district, the part of East Sussex closest to Brighton.
What it means for you
Brighton and Hove has its own city council, so East Sussex Highways does not look after the city’s streets. Its roads start where the city ends: if you drive or cycle out to Lewes, Peacehaven, Newhaven or Seaford, you are on the county’s network, and that is where a tree down or a flooded dip should be reported to East Sussex.
- Outside the city, in East Sussex: report a fallen tree, flooding or other road problem online at East Sussex Highways’ Report a Problem page. If it is an emergency, call 0345 60 80 193.
- Inside Brighton and Hove: problems go to the city council instead. Blocked drains and rain gullies are reported through its blocked gully page. In September we reported on the city’s own drain clearing work: 600 gullies cleared on 237 roads.
For closures and diversions in the city this week, including the rail replacement buses between Brighton and Lewes on Sunday 1 November, see our Brighton roadworks and travel page.
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