Thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused to a nightclub which was gutted by fire early today.

Firefighters spent an hour getting the blaze under control at the Continental Restaurant and Nightclub at Bexhill Marina.

The entire nightclub was gutted during the incident and the rest of the building suffered severe smoke damage, said a fire brigade spokesman.

Flats above the club were also evacuated after firefighters arrived at the scene at about 2.30am.

Proprietor Jacky Crouch, who has worked at the Continental for 14 years, said: "The police have told me it wasn't an electrical fault which caused the fire."

The premises will be closed while fire investigators try to discover the cause of the blaze.