Dozens of horses escaped injury when a fire tore through stables near Brighton Racecourse.
The blaze broke out in a hay barn at Southdown Stables, Warren Road, last night.
More than 20 firefighters spent almost eight hours putting out the blaze in a corrugated iron shed.
Stables manager Roger Rowell, 53, said: "We have no idea how it started.
"The young lady that locked up last night is very reliable and she turned everything off. Half an hour later it was alight.
"We were very lucky the wind was blowing in the right direction. If it was blowing the other way towards the stables, it could have been far worse.
"Fortunately with the wind blowing the other way the horses really knew nothing about it."
The charred frame of the building was still standing today but the iron walls and roof were broken and scattered on the floor.
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