The father of a party-goer killed in a fire at a flat allegedly linked to Nicholas van Hoogstraten has welcomed efforts to reopen an investigation.

Hoogstraten, convicted of manslaughter over the killing of business rival Mohammed Raja, denies any connection with the property.

However, allegations that he was linked to the block in Hove resurfaced during his trial.

And relatives of those killed at the party in 1992 have again called on police to review the evidence.

Tim Sharp was celebrating his 28th birthday when the fire broke out in his Palmeira Avenue flat.

He died along with Andrew Manners, 29, from Cheltenham, Mable Roberts, 48, from Colwyn Bay, Paul Jones, 33, and Adrian Johns, 31, both from Brighton.

An inquest accepted another party-goer, Trevor Carrington, who was later run down and killed by a truck in what was said to be suicide, started the blaze as a prank.

However, the fire investigator who examined the building, which had no fire escape, said it was started in three places at once.

Adrian's father Dennis joined the call for a fresh investigation.

A second son, Lee, survived the fire with appalling injuries but died of a drugs overdose two years later.

Mr Johns said: "Lee had told me before that if anything happened to him it would not be because he had killed himself but because someone had killed him."

He added: "I would be delighted to see it reopened and to find out what really happened because no one belonging to the families knows what happened.

"If there is anyone who does know, then why don't they come forward?"

A spokeswoman for Sussex Police said there were no plans to open a fresh investigation into the deaths unless new evidence came to light.

An Old Bailey jury cleared the multi-millionaire of murdering Mr Raja last week, deciding he had hired two men to harm and intimidate the businessman but not to kill him.

Mr Justice Newman warned Hoogstraten he was considering a life term when he remanded him in custody to await psychiatric reports before sentencing him in October.