Harvester fire: Crews tackle blaze in Littlehampton

A blaze which engulfed a Harvester restaurant in Littlehampton has been put out by firefighters.

Large plumes of black smoke could be seen billowing over the restaurant in Coastguard Road earlier.

There were fears the blaze, which was at its height at about 09:45 BST, could have spread to the Windmill Cinema, but all nearby buildings have been saved.

People are being urged to avoid the area because of the large amount of smoke still in the air.

Gary Ball, area manager of the West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, said saving the Windmill Cinema, a Grade II listed building, was a "priority" for fire crews.

"It was not helped by the wind conditions fanning the flames and moving the fire across the building," he said.

"We managed to get a large number of crews and fire engines around that side of the building and put lots of water onto the area to avoid the fire from spreading from one building to the other."

The Windmill Cinema's manager, Kevin Orman, said the foyer and kiosk area of the building had "water damage", and advance ticket sales were temporarily suspended.

He added: "We are hopeful that screenings will be able to restart on Monday."

Kelly Manchee, the director of the theatre's current production, The Wedding Singer, said: "The update we've had is there's no fire damage. The fire brigade have done an amazing job to save our theatre."

The fire service said the blaze started in the Harvester kitchen at about 09:00 BST and quickly spread to the roof.

Eyewitness William Parker told BBC Radio Sussex: "We have been sitting watching it with families who have come down to the beach.

"We thought we could see rain clouds but it was thick black smoke. There are about five fire engines and a couple of cars.

"We have heard some explosions and we have seen the roof collapse from here.

"It seems to be getting a bit better now, the explosions have stopped. I could heard really loud bangs which echoed around the area."

Twelve fire engines and two aerial ladder platforms were used at the peak of the fire, with crews from East and West Sussex taking part.

An investigation into the cause of the fire will begin once the building is deemed safe to enter.

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