Students arrived for the start of term at the University of Sussex yesterday to see firefighters tackling a blaze on campus.

A room in a hall of residence was wrecked by the blaze.

Sub Officer Dave Sheppard, of Brighton fire service, said: "There were lots of worried parents dropping off their children and looking a bit concerned about what was going on."

The fire started when an oven in a hall of residence room set light to stored bed linen.

Sub Officer Sheppard said: "Some items had been placed on top of a cooker that had been left on. It was entirely accidental. The whole room was destroyed but no one was hurt.

"There was a lot of very dense smoke because there were lots of duvets and pillows in the room.

"The smoke meant there was very low visibility and it was difficult for the crew to make their way through. It could have been a lot worse if we hadn't got there so quickly."