A man was arrested at the scene of a fire which wrecked a flat in St Leonards.

Firefighters were damping down the blaze when the man arrived at the building in London Road at 9am yesterday.

Sergeant Gary Batcheler, of Hastings CID, said the arrest was not connected with the fire.

The blaze had started at 7am and ripped through two floors of the semi-detached building.

Seven people were rescued.

Four fire crews were sent from Hastings and four people were taken to the Conquest Hospital in Hastings suffering from smoke inhalation.