Flood defence minister Elliot Morley today met victims of the floods that devastated Lewes and Uckfield.

Mr Morley first visited Lewes, where much of the town remains under water.

He met Assistant Chief Constable Nigel Yeo to discuss the rescue operation in which hundreds of homeowners were ferried to safety by lifeboat last night.

He also spoke to Environment Agency workers and local council staff.

In Uckfield, where floods on Wednesday night closed the town centre and caused millions of pounds' worth of damage to shops and homes, Mr Morley visited an industrial estate ruined by floods and walked along the High Street, which has now reopened.

He said: "Clearly a lot of people have been very badly affected in Lewes. It has been an extreme situation, with the average rainfall for one month falling in one day.

"Uckfield is also devastated in relation to its business centre. It, too, has seen an extreme situation.

"We cannot prevent floods of this nature and I will be talking to the Environment Agency about whether or not there are issues that need to be looked at and if there are any engineering solutions which may have helped.

"If there are, Government capital grants will be available."

Mr Morley said applications for extra money to help with the clean-up operation would be dealt with as swiftly as possible.

He said the Government could not help out with insurable risks but he would talk to colleagues at the Environment Department to ensure applications were dealt with quickly.

He said: "The councils will have to work out how much extra they need and then submit an application. You cannot calculate the exact cost until after the clean-up operation. The Government will assist in any way it can."