What a difference a day makes. Just 24 hours after the worst floods in living memory, an air of calm returned to streets and shops that were battered relentlessly the day before.

On Thursday, water poured through the centre of Uckfield carrying a tide of debris and rubbish.

Road signs and other street furniture were swamped by the water, as the struggle continued unabated to control the effects of the freak weather.

Where the Halfords store and McDonald's in Uckfield were partly submerged by flood water, an air of serenity returned to the area yesterday.

After the previous day's chaos, a pair of swans seemed unaffected as they took advantage of the extra water near the Pells swimming pool in Lewes.

Their journey through the town had been mirrored the day before by people, who decided the quickest way to get about was to hitch a ride on the water.

The scene bears little similarity to the previous day, when residents were left marooned in their homes and floodwater devastated businesses throughout Sussex.

As it had been many times before, Sussex buckled, rallied and finally recovered from the fiercest weather since the 1987 hurricane.

Residents had been savaged by the worst vagaries of the British weather but again refused to be beaten.