A YOUNG couple and their two-year-old daughter were saved from a blaze which ripped through their thatched restaurant.

Alain Montagnon, 32, his fiancee, Natalie Curtis, 20, and baby Chloe were asleep at the Knife and Fork Restaurant in Pagham, near Bognor, when they were woken by firefighters at 2am yesterday. The couple thought their rescuers were burglars and pleaded not to be hurt before realising what was happening. They grabbed clothing and fled from the blazing Grade II listed building in Pagham Road. The couple lost everything in the fire, including bridesmaids' dresses for their wedding in June, their picture albums of Chloe and her toys. Mr Montagnon said: "We've lost every single personal belonging we owned." It took 85 firefighters from stations all over West Sussex more than four hours to tackle the blaze. One firefighter was slightly injured and was taken to St Richard's Hospital in Chichester. No one else was hurt.

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