Sussex was starting to return to normal tonight after gales and torrential rain brought havoc and devastation across the county.

People in Uckfield and Lewes breathed a collective sigh of relief after threatened major flooding around the 4pm high tide failed to materialise.

River levels are falling but another half an inch of rain was expected tonight and the Environment Agency said flood warnings would remain in place overnight.

The towns had been braced for a repeat of the floods of a fortnight ago, when the rivers Uck and Ouse burst their banks and split the towns in two.

Most of Sussex has suffered a day of chaos after the storms. Thousands of homes were left without power and dozens of people were evacuated following flood warnings in Robertsbridge.

Rail services came to an almost complete standstill, some Gatwick flights and all Newhaven ferry departures were cancelled and roads were closed due to floods and fallen trees.

In Selsey, two people were hurt and mobile homes were wrecked after a tornado smashed through a caravan site.

It came only a day after another twister scythed through Bognor, leaving a mile-and-a-half trail of destruction.

However, police said today that the damage was not as serious as had been feared at first.

In Bodiam Close, Bevendean, Brighton, people again had to break out the sandbags after a dam behind their homes burst. In the floods of two weeks ago, Bevendean was the worst-hit part of Brighton.

The Environment Agency said 40mm of rain had fallen in Sussex and Kent in 24 hours.

Spokesman Ray Kemp said: "It's one of the severest storms, if not the severest storm, since 1987."

An agency spokeswoman said this afternoon: "As long as there is not heavy rainfall tonight we have seen the worst of it, but the severe weather is predicted to return at the end of the week."

She said severe flood warnings would remain on Sussex rivers as a precaution.

The agency had warned that this afternoon's high tide combined with the fast flow of water in rivers could cause major flooding.

But only Robertsbridge, where the River Rother burst its banks, saw flooding to homes.

Agency officers called at homes at risk last night and this morning, and some families had left the area voluntarily in case the scale of the last floods was repeated.

The River Ouse in Lewes and the River Uck in Uckfield came close to flooding at their peak but have started to subside.