Hard-hit retailers in Hassocks estimate their losses will run into thousands of pounds in the vital period before Christmas.

Robert Landsdall, ower of Reflex hair salon, raised the alarm at midnight on Saturday after a friend alerted him that Keymer Road had flooded outside his shop.

He helped to stop traffic and contacted fire and rescue officers who worked to clear drains clogged with leaves helped by Robert's wife Amanda and his 12-year-old daughter Jessica.

Filthy water had poured into neighbouring shops Bride and Martin before water levels started to subside.

The owner of Bride worked through the night to try to salvage wedding dresses but says 12 dresses worth around £2,000 each were ruined and others damaged.

People were unable to collect their pensions on Monday morning after the post office in Martin's was closed after water affected the electrics and put computer equipment out of action.

At Martin's on Monday manager Colin Spicer and deputy Judy Dryland were sorting through water-logged Christmas cards, wrapping paper, books and other products and had a team of industrial cleaners in to mop up.

Mr Spicer said they thought they had lost at least £2,000 worth of stock.

A Mid Sussex District Council spokesperson said: "Every day from Monday to Friday we have got two guys in Hassocks sweeping all along the pavement including the gulleys and every Wednesday the mechanical road sweeper goes through the village."

She said: "We do try to keep the gulleys and the drains clear and we have got some of the cleanest streets in the country so a real effort is made.

"However at the weekend it was just torrential rain and there were rivulets running down the road."

Read the full story in the Mid Sussex Times

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