Thousands of revellers fled to safety when a ferocious thunderstorm erupted at the height of a carnival procession.

There were no serious injuries but a man suffered burns to a hand when lightning struck his umbrella.

Children attending Broadwater Carnival cried out in terror at deafening thunderclaps as lightning crackled across the darkened sky.

But scores of youngsters on floats going through the village had no alternative but to ride out the height of the storm.

Several homes, a garden centre and Broadwater Green, the finishing point of the carnival procession, were left flooded by 15 minutes of torrential rain and hail.

Paramedics treated a woman in Crowborough Drive, Goring, for shock after lightning blasted her television aerial and wrecked the set.

At least six houses were struck, with a detached property in Angmering Lane, East Preston, sustaining serious fire and water damage.

In Hawthorn Crescent, Worthing, a double-glazed window at the rear of a detached bungalow was smashed by a chimney brick dislodged when lightning shot through the TV aerial and blew up sockets inside.

A tree in Offington Lane, Worthing, was splintered by lightning and a flagpole on Worthing Pier was struck.

Ann and John Hailstone, both 63, and their son Jamie, 33, stayed at Chatsworth Hotel in Worthing over the weekend after their house in Angmering Lane was badly damaged.

Jamie, the only person in at the time, was reading a newspaper when he heard "an almighty bang" and rushed upstairs to discover a large hole in the ceiling and roof insulation on fire.

Mr Hailstone said: "That's when I decided to get out of the house and call 999."

Anne and Doug Saunders, of Hawthorn Crescent, Broadwater, were watching the carnival when lightning struck their home. The family was left without a TV, telephone and radio.

Penny Keen, organiser of the carnival, said: "It was horrendous. A man with an umbrella was hit on Broadwater Green and I think he suffered burns to his hand but he didn't go to hospital."

Wyevale Garden Centre in Littlehampton Road, Ferring, was closed for two hours while staff dealt with flooding.

At Downlands Court, Mile Oak Road, Portslade, lightning blew tiles off the roof and knocked out televisions and telephones.