A family today described their escape from a fire which threatened their Worthing home.

Gavin Baylis was in the house with his twin 13-year-old daughters and a niece when fire ripped through the attic on Sunday afternoon.

Flames and smoke pouring from the two-storey detached house in Anscombe Road, on the seafront, could be seen across the town.

Onlookers banged on the front door to alert the family. The children managed to get out of the house while Mr Baylis grabbed a fire extinguisher and attempted to douse the flames himself.

He was beaten back by the force of the blaze and suffered a burn to his arm. He said: "The first I knew was when the burglar alarm went off, which I thought was odd, and I went to check the electrics to see what was up.

"Then there was a knock at the door and we were told to get out because the roof was on fire.

"We have got a fire extinguisher upstairs and I tried to put it out with that but it started up again."

Mr Baylis' wife Elaine was on her way back from shopping when she saw a crowd of people outside the house.

She said: "I looked up and saw the fire. I panicked because when I left my daughter had been playing upstairs so I was worried about her."

Mrs Baylis said the family had only returned from a holiday in the Caribbean the day before the blaze.

She said: "The house is completely water-damaged and we have been told we might not be able to return for six months.

"We are living with friends but we will be looking for somewhere to rent. I am just pleased no one was seriously hurt. If it had happened at night it could have been a lot worse."

Forensics experts were today due to investigate the cause of the fire.

The family said they believed a problem with the electrics could have started the blaze.

At its height, the fire could be seen for miles around and fire crews from Worthing and Lancing fought the flames.

A team using breathing apparatus went inside and fought the fire through a small loft hatch while other crews on the outside fought it with jets.

It took them 30 minutes to bring the fire under control and to stop it spreading to the first floor or other nearby buildings.

The crews stayed until around 6.30pm making sure the fire did not restart.

The seafront was crowded with people watching the blaze, which destroyed the loft of the large detached home.