A family and their dog were forced to climb on the roof of their van to escape rising floodwater.

The family, believed to have been a middle-aged couple and their son, became trapped when they drove into a rising flood pool in the Barcombe Mills Road, in Barcombe, near Lewes.

The water was between three and four feet high.

Unable to drive through to reach dry land, they were forced to clamber out of a window.

Firefighters from Lewes were called out at 5.30pm yesterday and rescued the family shortly afterwards.

The woman, who has not been named, was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton suffering from cold and shock.

She was one of several flood victims who called out the emergency services yesterday after the River Ouse burst its banks.

Environment Agency officials said the river overtopped in the late afternoon following a bout of heavy rainfall in the morning.

The Ouse flooded the whole of the Barcombe Mills Complex, leaving homes and farms under water for the fourth time in the last 12 months.

A spokeswoman for the agency said the flooding had peaked and should improve today.