Council leaders praise highways response to storm damage

HIGHWAYS teams dealing with the aftermath of two storms that hit East Sussex in quick succession have been praised by council leaders.

Cllr Peter Griffiths, East Sussex County Council’s lead member for transport and environment thanked workers for their response after the county was battered by Storm Austen and Storm Boelo.

Across the weekend, emergency crews were called to 218 incidents including flooding and fallen trees.  At the height of the response, eight emergency crews were in action helping to keep roads safe.

Cllr Griffiths said: “Keeping roads safe and passable in such challenging conditions is no mean feat and I am extremely grateful to our colleagues at East Sussex Highways for their efforts.

“On an average weekend, crews would probably deal with around eight emergency callouts which shows what a significant challenge they faced and what a great job they did.”

The majority of calls came in on Saturday when the team dealt with 89 calls in the space of eight hours, with Hastings, Eastbourne and Bexhill being worst hit areas.

Members of the public can report issues on the road network online at Report a Problem – live.eastsussexhighways.com or, if it’s an emergency, call 0345 60 80 193.

 

Ends.

Monday, 26 October 2026

Updated on: Wednesday, 28 October 2026