End of road in sight for Littlehampton seafront flooding

Flooding in Sea Road, between Norfolk Gardens and the Swimming and Sports Centre, has caused problems for motorists for many years and despite numerous complaints to West Sussex County Council, has not been eliminated.

However, this week the council said it was hoped work would start within a few weeks on the roadside drains believed to be the cause of the flooding.

It usually appears towards the end of autumn, and during spells of heavy rain in the winter, frequently covers the eastbound half of the carriageway, forcing vehicles to stray onto the wrong side of the road to avoid the floodwater.

This winter the problem has been worse, with the flooding spreading much further along the road, for well over 100 yards, and swamping dozens of car parking spaces. It has also stayed there longer and on a number of occasions has frozen over, adding to the dangers for motorists.

Peter Northen, of Tithe Green, Rustington, said: “It’s very dangerous. There will be a serious accident one day.”

A county council spokesman said: “We do have a proposal to deal with this problem. A design is with the contractor and we are awaiting for a start date from them.

“We cannot give a definite date yet because the current weather conditions are slowing up our drainage works programme. But we hope work can start in a few weeks.”