Car thieves have been blamed after part of an historic wine centre was severely damaged by fire.

A Ford Escort car was abandoned outside the English Wine Centre at Alfriston and then torched before the flames spread to the building.

Flames engulfed the 18th Century tourist attraction at 5am yesterday and severe damage was caused to the roof.

Dozens of bottles of vintage wine were also ruined in the incident.

Owner Christopher Ann believes repairs will cost more than £30,000.

The vehicle had been parked outside after being driven along the A27 between Eastbourne and Lewes.

Mr Ann said: "We were extremely fortunate the alarm systems worked because in a few more minutes we would have lost everything.

"A lot of the building is badly damaged and we have lost stock and some of my personal items but business must go on.

"We have opened again despite the damage. It's business as usual."

Around 20 firefighters tackled the blaze which happened yards from the main road and Drusillas Park.

Mr Ann said: "The fire brigade were fantastic, I can't thank them enough. It's hard to understand why someone would do this."

Police are continuing to investigate the fire and are appealing for witnesses.

A spokesman said: "This was a very serious incident which could have had far worse implications.

"It was pure luck the alarm was raised so quickly." Police believe the driver of the car fled after abandoning the flaming white-coloured car.

At first, fire officers from Seaford thought they were on a call to deal with a car fire.

But flames were already licking the building and catching the roof when they arrived.

A second engine from Seaford was immediately dispatched. A thermal imaging camera had to be used to discover where the fire was spreading.

Firefighters spent over an hour fighting the blaze.