THE owner of a nursery said she is “devastated” after a suspected arson attack destroyed her business.

The Cbabies nursery in Palmeira Avenue, Hove, was completely gutted by the blaze, thought to have been started by a petrol bomb on Saturday night, leaving the charred skeleton of the building in a perilous state.

Fifty firefighters battled to put out the blaze as it spread from the front porch to the upstairs of the building at about 9pm on Saturday.

Within minutes it had spread to the roof space and crews had to evacuate the building for their own safety.

Police and fire investigators will today launch an investigation into the cause of the fire, which they said had spread “unusually” fast.

Initial investigations suggest the fire was started by a petrol bomb in the porch of the three storey property.

Neighbours described seeing a man being arrested but police would not confirm any further details by the time The Argus went to press last night.

Today the families of 56 children who attend the nursery will be waiting to hear what will happen to Cbabies.

Owner Philippa Stephen-Martin told The Argus: “I am reeling.

“I am obviously absolutely devastated. This is the business I have run for 17 or 18 years. I’m rushing around trying to find temporary premises.”

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service group commander Andrew Gausden said: “We received a significant number of calls from the public.

“It started in the hallway and staircase. We were there within five minutes but when the first crews arrived the flames were already spreading to the first and second floors.

“They managed to put out the fire on the ground floor but it spread upstairs quickly.

“It is unusual to have such a fully developed fire on arrival.

“We had a number of concerns about the structural safety at which point we had to pull our crews out.

“Our crews did a really good job. They were able to stop it spreading to the neighbouring properties.

“The fire took hold quite quickly. Once it got in to the roof it was quite a challenge. And then we had issues with the stability of the building”

Fire crews from as far afield as Worthing and Lewes were at the scene from 9pm until 1am, with further crews remaining on scene through the night to damp down any hotspots.

Neighbours Abigail Wright and Jack Stevens were just about to go to bed when they saw the flames from their window.

They rang 999 before being evacuated from their home along with dozens of other residents.

Ms Wright said: “The firefighters were amazing at containing it.

“Their response time was incredible. I’m glad no one was hurt.”

The award-winning nursery is rated outstanding by Ofsted. Ms Stephen-Martin launched the business with £80 and sold possessions and took in lodgers to keep it going. In 2002 it became the became the country’s first webcam nursery, allowing parents to watch their children from their office or home.