Woman rescued from balcony in flats fire

She was helped onto an aerial ladder and brought to safety suffering from slight smoke inhalation.

Another resident was then led downstairs and out of the building.

The fire at Glyne Hall on De La Warr Parade took place on Monday morning.

The fire service was called out at 8.05am and responded with four pumps as well as the aerial platform ladder, while Sussex Police blocked off the seafront to traffic at the junctions with Sea Road and Brassey Road.

Two of the applicances were from Bexhill andthe other two came from the Hastings station based on the Ridge.

Watch Commander Andy Upton from Bexhill Community Fire Station said 40 residents from other flats in the building were evacuated until the emergency was dealt with.

The fire around the front door and hallway was put out quickly, but crews stayed at the scene until 1pm dealing with a burst water main inside the flat and carrying out salvage work.

It is thought the fire was caused by an electrical fault in the hallway.

Andy Upton said: "This is a great moment to remind everyone about the importance of having smoke detectors in their home '” if they haven't got them fitted they can contact their local fire station and arrange a free home safety visit.

"We can come round and give advice and fit a 10-year smoke detector for free. In fact we went back to Glyne Hall in the afternoon and put smoke detectors in all the flats there that didn't already have one '” and there were quite a few."