Residents return home after chemical incident

Residents evacuated from their homes in an East Sussex town after a major chemical incident have all been allowed to return.

The A259 St Leonards seafront road reopened on Monday afternoon, having been closed after more than 500 canisters of chemicals were found inside a building on Thursday.

A total of 80 people were evacuated from their homes within a 100m (328ft) cordon around the property.

The organisers of the Hastings Half Marathon, which was cancelled on Sunday due to the incident, have said they are "looking at possibly rescheduling" the event.

A 28-year-old man arrested in the property has been detained under the Mental Health Act, according to Sussex Police.

Officers said there was "currently no evidence to suggest any links to terror, extremist ideology or large-scale drug production".

Det Supt Steve May, from Sussex Police, acknowledged that this incident had been "disruptive".

He said: "Multi-agency operations such as these are complex and rely on the collaboration and determination of many people, all working with public safety as their number one priority.

"Through the Sussex Resilience Forum we have robust, well-rehearsed plans for major incidents, and that preparation has been crucial to ensuring this incident was resolved safely."

Simon Adby, director at Nice Work which organises the Hastings Half Marathon, said: "The race is huge for so many people in the town as well as the charities it benefits.

"Potential rescheduling is one of the options we are looking at.

"We will communicate with everybody who entered this year's race as soon as we can."

Andy Best, from Heathfield, who was due to be running his first half marathon, competed the race unofficially in Eastbourne instead.

He said: "I felt really good for doing it.

"It felt like a personal achievement to give it a go."

Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.