Strong winds hamper firefighters as blaze rips through historic Brighton hotel

Video shows firefighters tackling the blaze from the roof

Firefighters worked through the night to battle strong winds, as they tried to control a fire at an historic hotel on Brighton seafront.

Emergency crews were called at 5.30pm on Saturday evening, with around 70 firefighters called in to tackle the blaze at the Royal Albion Hotel on the Old Steine,Flames spread to multiple rooms from a third floor room with heavy winds providing challenging circumstances.

East Sussex Fire and Rescue confirmed there are no reports of any injuries at 11pm, but continued to work through the night.

Video shows smoke billowing from in the area surrounding the hotel

Local residents were evacuated as a precautionary measure and a rest centre setup by Brighton and Hove City Council.

Social media showed thick grey smoke billowing across the area closest to the hotel with people urged to keep windows and doors shut.

Such was the significance of the fire, an incident command centre was setup at the scene.

People have been told to avoid the area Credit: @CameraLeon

The response to the serious fire involved multiple agencies including Sussex Police and the Environment Agency. Brighton and Hove Council Leader, Councillor Bella Sankey said: “These are very sad scenes in our city this evening.

“On behalf of the city council I want to give my thanks to the emergency services for attending the fire at the historic Royal Albion Hotel in the heart of our city.

At 5am his morning, East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said they were scaling back their operation, but that six appliances and two aerial appliances would remain at the scene.

The full extent of the damage is not yet known, and the cause is being investigated.

Sussex Police said today they expect surrounding roads to remain closed on Sunday night:

The 219-bedroom hotel, which was built in 1826, is opposite Brighton pier and run by Britannia Hotels.

Part of the Regency building was Grade II* listed by English Heritage. The hotel suffered a previous fire in 1998.

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