Brighton hotel blaze: Fire-hit seaside hotel faces partial demolition

A 200-year-old fire-hit hotel in Brighton faces partial demolition "as soon as possible", according to a council.

The fire at the Regency-style Royal Albion Hotel - which overlooks Brighton Pier - broke out on Saturday evening.

Brighton and Hove City Council said parts of the building were "no longer structurally safe" and the demolition work would take two to three weeks.

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service (ESFRS) said no-one was injured.

"Difficult conditions" meant people had to be evacuated from nearby buildings, the service said.

The Old Steine and Kings Road were shut with people told to stay away due to "significant smoke" made worse by wind.

ESFRS said on Monday that the A259 - the road outside the hotel - will remain closed for at least the next 72 hours.

Brighton and Hove City Council opened a rest centre to provide support for people evacuated from their homes.

One resident of Old Steine said the fire started when they were out and when they came back, their flat was full of smoke.

They had to rush their pet kitten to the vets and put them on oxygen.

"My home is covered in black soot and smoke damage," the resident told the BBC.

On Monday morning, the fire service said crews were beginning to scale back operations from the blaze, which at its height had 15 fire engines at the scene.

George O'Reilly, of ESFRS, said the structure was "unsound".

"I'm not going to send my crews into the building, as the building could potentially collapse on them," he told BBC Radio Sussex.

"We're going to be demolishing part of that building and extinguishing the fire as it is being demolished."

Of the approximately 100 people evacuated from the surrounding area, it is believed they have either found another place to stay or are being supported by the council to find a temporary alternative, incident commander Chris Baker said.

It is understood the hotel has found other accommodation for all its guests.

Council leader Bella Sankey said: "These are incredibly sad scenes for our city.

"I've got nothing but heartfelt praise for our emergency services, who have worked so diligently in the most difficult of circumstances for two nights now."

Brighton Kemptown MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle said: "Restaurants were having to shut their outside areas and it was difficult for people to breathe.

"It will need to be re-built with the traditional aspect that it had so that the heritage is maintained."

Firefighters from Preston Circus, Newhaven, Hove, Lewes, Eastbourne, Pevensey and fire engines from West Sussex were brought in to help.

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

Part of the building was Grade II*-listed by English Heritage and suffered a previous fire in November 1998.

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