Couple celebrate wedding proposal minutes before fleeing Brighton hotel fire
The pair had minutes to celebrate the occasion before fleeing the hotel
A couple had just minutes to celebrate their wedding proposal before they had to flee from a fire in their hotel.
Jason Pryer made plans to propose to Melanie Nunne and booked a hotel room at the Royal Albion Hotel for Saturday evening.
Jason prepared the room by decorating it with balloons and confetti before Melanie arrived with her sister.
Jason said: "So I opened the door and was waiting for them to come up.
"I could smell smoke, didn't process that it would have been the hotel.
"Summer time everyone throws BBQs, there's bonfires going on, could have been someone cooking something."
When Melanie came into the room, Jason read out a love letter and proposed.
She said yes but the couple didn't have long to take in the special moment before they rushed out the hotel to escape the fire.
Jason explained: "We had a hug, everyone was really excited and was really happy.
"We managed to have about one glass of prosecco in the space of two or three minutes.
"She went to get changed and the fire alarms went off.
"Very scary."
The couple and their family evacuated the hotel and, on the way out, Jason said a plank of wood landed next to him.
The couple's belongings were left in the room including Melanie's phone with pictures of her daughter on it.
Melanie said: "The proposal happened then it turned to chaos.
"And we were next running out the building seeing smoke flooding from the window out the sides and bits of embers flying everywhere hitting everyone.
"I can't remember half of it because it was just all very fuzzy and chaotic."
Crews were called to the Royal Albion Hotel on the Brighton seafront at about 5.30pm on Saturday.
Firefighters have spent the last couple of days extinguishing the flames with the fire now under control.
The A259 will remain closed for the next couple of days at least whilst the location is made safe.
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