A family today spoke of their heartbreak after their restaurant was wrecked by fire.

Flames ripped through La Cala early yesterday morning leaving the once-thriving Spanish tapas bar at the Lady Bee Marina, Southwick, a charred shell.

It is believed the blaze started at 4am behind the bar near the cellar.

The smoke detector went off but no one was around to raise the alarm.

Owner Trevor Mee's son, David, discovered the aftermath when he went to open up at 11.30am.

He said: "I opened the door and there was an overwhelming smell of smoke. Everything had turned to carbon and it was all black. I was shocked."

Fire investigators searched the property with a sniffer dog yesterday but have yet to establish the cause of the fire.

Mr Mee, 61, of Albion Street, Southwick, said there could be up to £100,000 worth of damage.

He said: "I am absolutely devastated. We have been here for 15 years and had just redecorated and got everything ready for Easter. Now we have lost it all. The chairs and the cushions are black, it has even gone into the toilets."

Mr Mee was yesterday waiting to see when he would be allowed back into the building.

He added: "From the outside you couldn't see anything but inside the damage looks quite serious. The bar area is completely burned. There are no electrics, everything is black. It looks like it raged for a while.

"The fire brigade think it probably burnt itself out and was contained by the double glazing."

Mr Mee opened the restaurant after visiting his brother and sister in law in Spain.

It is named after a beach outside Malaga which literally translated means "little port". Mr Mee cooks the food, his son is a barman and his two daughters, Stephanie Mee, 31, and Jodie Earthey, 22, are waitresses.

Mr Mee said: "It is a real family business. We have got to wait for the investigation to finish, then get the insurers out and get contractors in. We must go forward with this - the family depends on it. It is our livelihood and if we don't get the insurance sorted out soon it could well mean a problem for us. We just want to get back up and running again as soon as possible."