Torrential rains brought flooding chaos to parts of Sussex today.

More than three-quarters of an inch of rain fell in three hours, flooding roads and making driving treacherous.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "Amazingly, we have not received many accident reports. Everyone seems to be driving sensibly through the floods."

Parts of Carden Avenue and Lewes Road in Brighton were flooded and fountains of water rose from overflowing drains.

West Sussex Fire Brigade received six flooding calls in 10 minutes, mainly in the Shoreham/Lancing/Worthing area.

One elderly woman in Old Shoreham Road, Hove, called the East Sussex brigade when flood water surrounded her home.

A spokesman said: "She got worried the water was going to sweep into her home but there was no real danger."

Weathermen warned more heavy showers were on the way but the sun is expected to return by the weekend.

In West Sussex, traffic slowed to a crawl along parts of main roads between Littlehampton, Worthing and Lancing as giant puddles of standing water formed across the roads and along verges.

The busy A27 between Worthing and Lancing was one of the worst-hit areas, leading to tailbacks of more than a mile as drivers slowed to negotiate the puddles that in some locations were inches deep.

Water was also found spurting from an open manhole cover just north of the level crossing at West Worthing, causing problems for passing traffic.

West Sussex fire crews said there had been no major flooding problems in the area but were warning shopkeepers and houseowners susceptible to flooding to be on their guard as more heavy rain was predicted.

Shopkeepers in Worthing town centre, the scene of major flooding less than a month ago, were today not taking any chances, with some getting out sandbags despite not being affected so far.

A spokesman for WH Smith said: "We were taken by surprise last time and we don't want to go through the same situation again. There are no problems so far but we taking extra precautions just in case the weather gets worse."

Police today warned drivers to go slowly and allow plenty of time for journeys.

Lightning struck a telegraph pole and set a transformer alight in Foxhill Village, Haywards Heath.

Firefighters in two engines from Haywards Heath and one from Burgess Hill attended the scene but did not consider it safe to put out the fire, which quickly burnt itself out.

In Horsham, water from a burst main flooded the road and a house in Wordsworth Close.