Emergency teams were put on standby when a man doused his Eastbourne flat with petrol and threatened to set it alight.

Firefighters and a team of paramedics were called to the flat in Silverdale Road at 3.15am today.

A spokesman for the Eastbourne fire station said the man had threatened to take a match to the flat but was arrested by police.

He said: "We were there just in case really. He had threatened to strike a match but the police got to him just in time."

Firefighters remained on the scene until 4.40am making sure the flat was safe.