EXTENSIVE CCTV footage could show the arsonist who torched a nursery school, but police have not yet looked at the images.

The Cbabiesafe nursery in Palmeira Avenue, Hove, specialised in allowing parents to view their children via a network of webcams.

But the building was gutted by a huge fire after a suspected petrol bomb was set off in the front porch on Saturday September 30.

Owner Phillipa Stephen-Martin said she was "chomping at the bit" to get the building repaired or rebuilt - but had so far not been allowed to return to the property.

Sussex Police arrested a man on suspicion of arson on the night of the fire and released him under investigation but a spokesman for the force told The Argus their had been no further developments in the case since.

Despite the building being covered in cameras that could hold clues to solving who started the fire and why, police have not even looked at the footage almost two weeks later

Ms Stephen-Martin added: "We have heard absolutely nothing from the police. We can't get in the building to even look at whether we can start rebuilding until the police say we can.

"We are chomping at the bit to get in their and rebuild it even better than before.

"But we are not allowed to go in the building.

"That also means we can't access the camera boxes."

Ms Stephen-Martin said that safeguarding protection on their camera system meant that footage could not be reviewed remotely and the camera boxes would need to be physically removed from the crumbling wreckage and analysed to see if they held any clues to the cause of the fire.

She added that yesterday she was waiting to be contacted by officers to see whether they could get access to the cameras, and was waiting in limbo for the police to conclude their investigation before work to repair the building and get back to business as usual could begin.

Meanwhile heavy rain and wind is thought to have made the structural damage even worse.

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said their investigation into the cause of the fire had been completed and it was now being treated as a criminal case and investigated by police.

Sussex Police said their investigations into the cause of the fire were continuing.

A spokesman added: "A fire which severely damaged a children's nursery in Palmeira Avenue, Hove, on Saturday evening (September 30) is being treated as suspicious.

"Police were called to the fire at the CBabiesafe nursery shortly after 9pm and assisted East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service by closing nearby streets to traffic.

"Officers also helped to evacuate nearby properties affected by smoke.

"A 54-year-old Brighton man has been arrested on suspicion of arson and released under investigation."