A blazing hotel had to be evacuated after fire broke out in the basement, threatening to engulf the building.

Firefighters said flames were "pulsing" through the skylight windows in the basement when they arrived at the scene on Saturday.

The flames leapt up the outside of the four-storey hotel as officers struggled to control the source of the blaze.

Fire chiefs initially feared some of the 22 people staying at the Acropolis hotel in Kemp Town, Brighton, were trapped inside.

The ground floor and basement were gutted.

Guests described how they were woken by the fire alarms and escaped along smoke-filled corridors.

David Lazarus said he had to crouch down below the smoke to find his way along a top-floor corridor to reach the fire exit.

He said: "When I came out the corridor was choked with smoke. You could not even see the fire. There was very thick smoke."

Fellow guest Abdoulie Barrow said he did not realise what was happening until he saw the smoke billowing out from windows below.

He said: "I was quite lucky. By the time I was coming out onto the corridors, you could hardly see because of all the smoke."

Many of the people rescued from the Burlington Street hotel wrapped themselves in blankets to watch as firefighters fought to stop the flames spreading.

Among them was Hushan Bastawi, cradling his eight-month-old daughter Seram, whom he led to safety after the alarms sounded shortly after 7am.

Australian guest Scott Johnston and his girlfriend Margaret Lynch were in Brighton to attend her sister's wedding later in the day.

Mr Johnston said: "We were in a ground-floor room. There was smoke in the building but it was not anything major when we got out."

He was still waiting outside when firefighters declared the blaze out at 8.50am, to see whether he could retrieve their belongings.

He said: "My girlfriend grabbed her bridesmaid's dress on the way out. That was the most important thing.

"She left her shoes and make up. I was not even allowed to get my wallet but she managed to get the dress."

Roads around Burlington Street were closed as 45 firefighters tackled the blaze.

Station Officer Phil Thompson, commander at Preston Circus fire station, said his crews had been faced with a "significant fire in very difficult conditions".

He said: "When the crews arrived, there was a severe fire in the basement, which we believe started in a boiler.

"The fire was so severe, and because it was in a basement, it was very difficult for the crews to get down through the heat layer.

"It took us 15 minutes to get in there and fight it. During that time the fire reached the rear of the premises and leapfrogged up four floors. It was burning quite badly at the back."

Hotel owner Joe Noonan praised manager Paul Taylor, who made sure all the guests got out, as he surveyed the ruined ground floor from outside.

He said: "Everyone got out safely and quickly. The restaurant is destroyed and I would say there is smoke damage all the way up but everyone got out. That's the main thing."

Guests rescued from the hotel, some visitors and some placed there by Brighton and Hove City Council and the DSS, were taken to a nearby pub while arrangements were made to find alternative accommodation.

The blaze is being investigated but is not being treated as suspicious.