A village has recorded double the usual rainfall in July as the country faces a wet summer.

Herstmonceux weather station recorded 60mm of rainfall last month compared to the usual 30mm.

The UK as a whole had its sixth wettest July on record and its wettest since 2009.

Mike Kendon, who works as part of the Met Office’s team that looks after the UK’s climate records, said: “It has been a significantly wet month for much of the UK.

“The jet stream has been shifted to the south of the UK for much of the month, simultaneously allowing extreme heat to build in southern Europe for a time, but also allowing a succession of low-pressure systems to influence the UK, with long periods of winds and rain that many more typically associate with autumn weather.”

Rain was recorded on 23 of the 31 days in July in Herstmonceux.

July has been slightly cooler than average, with a mean temperature of 14.9C.

By contrast, June was particularly dry and hot, and parts of Sussex hit by a hosepipe ban to aid water supply.

Sam Larsen, Director of Programmes and Planning at Water UK, said: “The recent wet and unsettled weather has helped river, reservoir and groundwater levels recover in much of the country. However, there are still areas in drought or that have experienced prolonged periods of dry weather, and climate change is changing the weather patterns that we all rely on for water.

“It is important that we all continue to do what we can to save water to protect the environment and help safeguard against drought.”

Accompanied by the frequent rain, there have been some unseasonably gusty winds for Sussex this July.

 “We always encourage the public to check the weather forecast and tide times before visiting the coast,” said Sam Hughes RNLI Water Safety Partner.

“The strong winds like those we’ve experienced this past month can pose a safety risk, especially along exposed cliffs, seafronts and piers so we ask that people exercise caution if visiting the shoreline.”

“If you see someone else in danger in the water, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.”