Fire chiefs insist it is "business as usual" despite having two fire stations and a control room knocked out by the recent floods.

East Sussex Fire Brigade handled more than 400 calls in the first 12 hours of the emergency and, despite difficulties, responded and attended each one.

The control room, which handles emergencies, was moved from Lewes's flooded North Street to brigade headquarters in King Henry's Road, Lewes, and is now in an assembly room at Hove fire station.

But Desmond Pritchard, deputy fire chief, stressed that the service to the public has been unaffected.

Two fire stations, Uckfield and Lewes, were flooded although both are now functioning again.

He said: "What makes the smoothness of the operation all the more remarkable is that the moving from one side of town to the other happened with no disruption to the service whatsoever.

"Not a single 999 call was missed and not once did the brigade fail to attend an incident.

"The floods have had a serious affect on many of the physical resources of the brigade but not on the spirit or determination of the staff."

Councillor Chris Morley, chairman of the East Sussex and Brighton and Hove Fire Authority, said insurance will cover much of the loss but the authority will need to find some cash.

He has written to Home Office minister Mike O'Brien and will be meeting with local authorities to discuss extra funding.

He said: "We are determined to get the brigade back to normal as quickly as possible if for no one else's sake than the control room staff.

"They showed terrific dedication during the crisis and stayed in the North Street control room for as long as possible, as water was coming up to their rooms."