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Two teenagers suffered "abhorrent" injuries when they were attacked by suspects wearing balaclavas, police have said.

The boys were part of a group that was set upon in the woods near Swanbourne Lake, Arundel, at about 01:00 BST on Wednesday.

One of the victims suffered a broken jaw and back injuries, while a second was left with a cheek injury and a burn to his leg, Sussex Police said. Both have been discharged from hospital.

Supt Miles Ockwell said: “The level of injuries involved in this assault are abhorrent and the behaviour from the suspect group is completely unacceptable."

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NHS England has announced there were no deaths from coronavirus in hospitals in the South East in the 24-hour period up to 16:00 BST on Tuesday.

Cases are only included when the positive Covid-19 test result is received, or death certificate confirmed with Covid-19 mentioned, NHS England said.

These figures do not include deaths outside hospital, including those in care homes.

Across England's hospitals 14 deaths were linked to positive coronavirus tests, with the Midlands seeing nine deaths and the North East and Yorkshire three.

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Parents who do not send their children back to school in September will only be fined as a last resort, West Sussex County Council has said.

At a meeting of the full council, Nigel Jupp, cabinet member for education and skills, was asked what would happen if parents who were worried about the pandemic kept children away from lessons.

In a written answer, Mr Jupp said the council understood that parents and children might be anxious about going back and would work with schools to help prepare them "for safe and managed return".

He added: “The education and skills service will continue to work with schools to engage with and support parents in getting their children back into school before considering issuing penalties for poor attendance.

“Issuing fines for non-attendance is always a last resort.”

He said confidence was the key word, especially when it came to convincing parents that schools were doing all they could to "minimise health risks" for the children – many of whom would be returning after almost six months away.

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Labour and Conservative leaders at Crawley Borough Council, which is facing a multi-million-pound gap in its finances due to the coronavirus pandemic, have come to an agreement over the running of the authority until the 2021 elections.

Peter Lamb and Duncan Crow met when the council moved into no overall control after Labour councillors Karen Sudan and Rory Fiveash quit the party to become Independents.

Their decision left the council with 17 Conservative councillors, 16 Labour and two independents, with one seat vacant following the death of Geraint Thomas in November.

In a joint statement, Mr Lamb and Mr Crow said the council would keep a Labour administration but Mr Crow and his shadow cabinet would have greater rights and powers, and the next town mayor would be from the Conservatives.

“We are in the midst of a pandemic, with thousands of local jobs at risk, and a multi-million pound budget gap in the council’s finances has opened up in the fight against Covid-19.

“In these unprecedented times, we as elected representatives owe it to those we serve to put party politics to one side and focus on getting the town through this crisis."

Public services across Sussex are preparing for a surge in demand this weekend with the combination of the relaxation of social distancing measures and warmer weather.

Officials at the Sussex Resilience Forum, an umbrella organisation which includes emergency services, health organisations and local authorities, urged people to “stay alert” to Covid-19 and avoid placing strain on the NHS and other public services.

Sussex Resilence Forum

The message came after huge numbers of vehicles last week gridlocked roads leading to beaches at Camber Sands near Rye and police were left dealing with large gatherings in Brighton and Hove.

Chair of the Sussex Resilience Forum, Assistant Chief Constable, Dave Miller, said: “Our businesses and communities are understandably welcoming the further easing of restrictions planned.

“We want everyone to be able to enjoy the additional freedom this will bring but our plea is to do this safely and to avoid placing additional strain on emergency services and the health service that have all worked so hard to prevent the public during this pandemic.

“The fact that the re-opening coincides with the 72nd anniversary of our health service, which has demonstrated its incredible resilience and relentless care throughout this pandemic, makes our message even more important.”

A second Crawley councillor has resigned from the Labour Party – leaving the Conservatives with the most seats on the borough council.

Rory Fiveash, who represents Bewbush and North Broadfield, announced his decision today.

The news comes less than a day after his mother and fellow councillor, Karen Sudan, quit the party following allegations of anti-Semitism.

Mrs Sudan, who represents Northgate and West Green at both West Sussex County Council and Crawley Borough Council, said she decided to leave the party so that she could defend herself against the allegations, which centre around three tweets on her Twitter feed.

She said: “I’m not an anti-Semite. If these three tweets are evidence of it, it’s pathetic.”

Mr Fiveash said he had been "under investigation" by the party for more than a year over three emails he had sent, one of which shared his concerns about the selection process for the 2019 elections. He said that in another email he had made "an ironic reference to mansplaining".

Mr Fiveash said "gossip" had been circulating about the investigation "with many different stories being spun about the nature of it".

He added: “This is the reality of the party’s complaints system – investigations are launched and left to sit for years while good people have their names dragged through the mud locally.”

Mr Fiveash said he had warned the party three months ago that he would quit unless the matter was cleared up but – aside from some initial platitudes – had heard nothing.

He said: “A great amount of time, energy and stress have gone into trying to clear this matter up. I need that energy to work for the people I represent.

“They are among the most vulnerable in our town and they always pay the highest price in a crisis. “They need and deserve my full attention now. In order to give my best to them I have, with huge reluctance, decided to resign from the Labour Party.”

Meanwhile, Crawley Conservative MP Henry Smith said now was not the time for the local Labour Party to be engaged in "personality politics".

Police “can’t stop people coming to the coast”, Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne has said.

Mrs Bourne’s comments came as she answered councillors’ questions at a virtual meeting of the Sussex Police and Crime Panel.

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The questions came after police issued dispersal orders to a mass gathering at Hove Lawns last Wednesday.

Those to speak included Crawley Borough councillor Michael Jones (Labour), who said: “The emergency dispersal orders issued in Brighton filled me with very deep concern.

“But we have got a lot of seaside towns in Sussex clearly; Bognor Regis, Littlehampton, Worthing, Lancing, Shoreham beach, Brighton and Hove, Eastbourne, St Leonards, Hastings. The list goes on.

“Not only is there clearly a threat to public health for those going to the beach if they are not socially distancing, but it seems to me to be serious increased risks for residents of those towns as well.

In response, Mrs Bourne said: “You raised some really important points and I don’t think any of us disagree with your concerns around our residents and our coastal areas.

“We have got over 100 miles of coastline in Sussex and, with the best will in the world, police can’t stop people coming to the coast.

“All along the police response to this – as we have eased out of lockdown – was the Four E approach. It was to engage with the public, to explain to them why we are doing the social distancing and to encourage them to go home and only to use enforcement as a last measure, as you would expect.

“I think actually Sussex Police has been really good around this and where they have had to issue fixed penalty notices, they have."

Police in Sussex have issued dispersal orders across the county following reports of gatherings and anti-social behaviour.

One of the dispersal orders put in place was at Hove Lawns on Wednesday evening when hundreds of people gathered on the seafront.

Sussex Police said they understood "it has been a difficult time for everyone, particularly young people" but officers warned "the virus is still here" and urged people to help protect others.

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A Sussex hotel which has housed homeless people during the pandemic will no longer be able to do so as the lockdown eases, a council has said.

Leader of Worthing Borough Council Daniel Humphreys said that as the hospitality industry prepared to reopen on 4 July, the hotel “has been informed by their insurance underwriter that this agreement can no longer continue”.

Mr Humphries said the council was doing everything it could to support those who had been living in the hotel.

However, he called on the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government to recognise the costs to councils during lockdown, and said the estimated budgetary loss for Worthing stood at about £1.5m.

He said: “We have been left with a significant hole in our budget and an ongoing problem with those we have housed above and beyond our statutory, and funded duty, which continues to put an even greater strain on council finances.”

Goodwood

Goodwood Motor Circuit in West Sussex is to start drive-in movie screenings, beginning with the racing film Rush.

The drama between motor racing rivals James Hunt and Niki Lauda will be the first movie attendees can see from their cars.

Moana, The Incredibles, Cars, Mary Poppins Returns, Zootropolis, Toy Story, The Hunger Games, Knives Out, Moulin Rouge, Star Wars, Dirty Dancing, Reservoir Dogs, Pretty Woman, Fight Club and American Psycho also on the bill.

Secret Cinema will also be putting on pre-screen performances recreating scenes from the movies.

The Duke of Richmond, who owns the Goodwood estate, said: "Our reaction to the current pandemic is to try and do what we're best at - which is bringing people together through shared passions.

"This represents a step towards the new normal, allowing us to help get things going again in a safe and socially distanced way."

The drive-in opens on 5 July.