Sussex in 2022: Top 10 stories of the year

The top two stories are all things Gatwick Airport - cancellations, delays and queue times were what readers wanted from SussexWorld this year. Due to staff shortages there was lots of chaos for passengers getting in and out of the country. Lots of jobs were lost during the pandemic and getting those staff numbers back up wasn’t quick which resulted in not enough staff to deal with people flocking to jet off on their holidays.

The third spot was all about man’s best friend. Dog articles always do well online but this recent article gathered lots of interest - RSPCA dogs in Sussex looking for a new home.

Anyone interested in adopting or finding out more about any of the dogs below is urged to visit the RSPCA website.

Next up was a sad incident on Eastbourne beach which resulted in three people being taken to hospital. The air ambulance, police, and ambulance crews gathered in the area in front of the Lifeboat Museum.

A ‘family fun factory’ in Hastings came next in the top 10. Owens opened in the the former Debenhams building earlier this year. There’s three floors of indoor entertainment including bowling, crazy golf, and VR activities. We got to have a look around just before it opened.

Just last month hundreds of people in one postcode of Sussex won a multi-million-pound lottery prize. The BN124 postcode (Goring-by-Sea, Worthing) won £16.9 million in the People’s Postcode Lottery on December 16, just in time for Christmas. Jason Donovan, a People’s Postcode Lottery ambassador, surprised some winners on their doorstep with the good news. Check out the full story and photos here.

Find out more about the People’s Postcode Lottery here

It might be hard to imagine now on a grey day in January, but last year we had our fair share of heatwaves. This meant people were searching for which beaches they could and couldn’t visit. A story in August letting people know where to go came seventh in our top 10.

School places was the topic of conversation for our story coming in at eighth. More specifically, the most oversubscribed secondary schools in East Sussex. Back in March children were offered a place at secondary school. East Sussex County Council revealed 96 per cent of children were given a place at one of their three preferred schools and 87.6 per cent secured a place at their first choice. Check out the full story here.

A bizarre story comes in at nine when a ‘shark’ was seen by a dog walker in West Sussex in September. Rustington resident Ben Colbourne was walking his dog at the end of Botany Close and Pigeonhouse Lane, just before 9am, when he noticed an unusual object in the sea. He believes it was a basking shark. Check out the full story here.

We saw plenty of storms last year but it’s photos of Storm Claudio in November that closes our top 10. The photos show a collapsed pier, trees on cars, and flooded railway lines.