Fire ripped through a country house belonging to the former owner of one of Brighton's best known department stores.

The Elizabethan house belongs to Derek Hunnisett, who ran the old Hanningtons store in North Street.

Forty fire crews were called to Beechwood Lane, Cooksbridge, just outside Lewes at 7.45pm last night.

The blaze started in the roof space of the detached property, which had been converted into a third-floor attic space.

As the home dates back to the 16th Century, the fire easily spread throughout the two upper floors.

Station officer Richard Fowler, of Roedean station, said: "When the first two crews arrived at the property the fire was well established in the roof space.

"The officer in charge asked for more appliances to be sent to the scene and in total nine engines worked on the fire.

"The fire spread so easily because of the old constitution of the house. There are voids, or gaps, in the roof space so the fire had plenty of room to grow.

"Half of the main wing of the house caught fire. The couple had quite a lot of artefacts on the ground floor, which fire crews were able to salvage."

Twenty firefighters wearing breathing apparatus went into the house to tackle the blaze, which was put out by about 10pm.

Crews remained at the property overnight to make sure the fire did not re-ignite.

This morning, damage to the house was clearly visible.

A large number of roof tiles were missing and fire damage could be seen at the side of the home and through missing windows.

Charred debris lay in the garden and a security guard kept watch over the property.

Neighbours living further down the quiet narrow country lane described seeing flames leaping from the building.

One said: "It looked really bad. The fire engines started turning up. We could hear them shouting. I rang my neighbour and she didn't think anybody was in. My husband went up to see but there were so many fire engines backed down the road.

"It looked like the flames were coming out of the roof. It was quite scary because it went up really quickly.

"It is a beautiful house. I just wonder how much damage there has been."

Another neighbour said: "The fire was huge. I could see the flames and I saw the fire engines. There was not much one could do."

Fire and police investigation officers are trying to establish the cause of the blaze.

Mr Hunnisett also owns Brighton Square in Brighton, a mix of shops, restaurants and pubs.

He is well known for his charity work with the Martlets Hospice in Hove and The Argus Appeal. He is also the sponsor of the city centre carol concert.