Sussex news bulletin on Wednesday, September 20

SussexWorld

Here is your daily news bulletin for Sussex on Wednesday, September 20

Transcript

00:00 Hello, I'm Sam Morton and here is your daily Sussex News Bulletin on Wednesday, September

00:04 20th.

00:06 Fire crews and police officers were seen on a road in Worthing after a tree collapsed

00:10 onto a house.

00:11 Emergency service personnel called on the affected area on Whitebeam Road around 6pm

00:15 on Tuesday, where Sussex Fire and Rescue Service sent one fire engine and one technical rescue

00:21 unit to the scene, supported by Sussex police officers.

00:24 The tree reportedly split at its base and fell onto the side of the house after wind

00:28 speeds of up to 33mph, with gusts as high as 43mph.

00:33 Meanwhile, a tornado and storm research team has completed its investigation after a freak

00:38 weather incident in West Sussex.

00:40 Sussex was hit by thunder and lightning overnight on Monday, but one town was struck harder

00:44 than others amid reports of a mini-tornado with one person left injured and at least

00:48 20 cars damaged.

00:50 Photos painted a scene of destruction in Littlehampton, with houses damaged and car windows smashed,

00:54 whilst trees and brick walls fell over.

00:56 There were also reports of rainwater leaking into properties.

01:00 The tornado and storm research organisation, known as TORO, said on Monday morning that

01:04 it was aware of severe wind damage in Littlehampton.

01:07 A tornado site investigator said on Monday that they intend to conduct a site investigation

01:12 this week to determine whether or not this was a tornado.

01:15 On Tuesday evening, the site investigator said the impact of the severe weather event

01:19 was also felt in Wick and was caused by a tornado.

01:23 A social media update read, "In brief, as it has been a long day of interviewing people,

01:27 plotting damage and assessing the situation, with 14 miles of walking thrown in, TORO can

01:31 confirm that the damage in Wick and Littlehampton was caused by a tornado."

01:36 A spokesperson for the Met Office said, "Tornadoes are fairly common in the UK.

01:40 We typically see around 30 a year.

01:42 They tend to be small and short-lived, but can cause structural damage if they pass over

01:46 built-up areas."

01:48 Elsewhere in West Sussex, a car collided with a charity shop in Chichester on Tuesday, causing

01:52 four casualties.

01:54 Multiple emergency services responded to a report that a car had collided with the front

01:58 of the British Heart Foundation charity shop in North Street at around 12.14pm.

02:03 Whilst on the scene, firefighters worked to release one person who was trapped as a result

02:06 of the incident.

02:07 Four people, three pedestrians and the driver have now been taken to hospital for treatment.

02:12 Police said the injuries were believed to be serious but not life-threatening or life-changing

02:16 at this time.

02:18 A cordon was put in place to allow emergency services to respond to the collision and to

02:21 make the area safe.

02:23 Residents were urged to avoid the area.

02:24 Police are now appealing for witnesses to the incident and have asked anyone with information

02:28 to get in touch.

02:30 Finally, the Environment Agency has forecasted a short-term water pollution risk along the

02:35 Eastbourne coastline and swimmers have been told to stay out at the sea.

02:39 The forecast, which was made on Monday morning, was based on the effects that rain, wind and

02:43 seasonality have on bathing water quality.

02:46 An Eastbourne Borough Council spokesperson said, "These factors affect the levels of

02:49 bacteria that get washed into the sea from urban drainage via river and streams and how

02:54 they disperse.

02:56 The current advice is not to enter the water.

02:58 Safety posts will be on display along our coastline and red flags will be deployed by

03:01 our coastguards."

03:02 After a short-term pollution event, levels of bacteria typically return to normal after

03:07 a day or so.

03:08 However, it's possible to have several warning days in a row, according to the council.

03:12 For all of those stories and much more, you can see our website, sussexwale.co.uk.

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