A Roman Catholic priest died in a fire at his vicarage near Brighton today.

Flames ripped through the vicarage of the Church of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady in Horsham Avenue, Peacehaven.

The priest, Father Patrick Emmanuel, 50, was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton but pronounced dead on arrival.

The priest, known as Father Pat, was found in his nightclothes in an upstairs bathroom of his vicarage in Horsham Road, Peacehaven.

It appears he woke and tried to reach his ensuite bathroom before collapsing. It is thought he died from breathing in smoke.

The fire gutted the upstairs and the roof of the modern vicarage, which is behind the small Catholic church in Edith Avenue, Peacehaven.

Neighbours awoke at just after 2am to see flames leaping into the night sky from the vicarage.

Raymond McColl, 50, an antiques dealer, said: "I awoke, looked out of the window and dialled 999. I just saw a mass of flames. The fire brigade were here very quickly."

Brian Hunter, who lives opposite, said: "I woke up and I heard the sound of cracking. I thought it was fireworks going off. Then I looked out and I saw brightness in the sky and the whole roof was ablaze. Sparks were flying everywhere."

Fire brigade Sub Officer Russell Parker, from Roedean, who was still at the scene today, said: "The roof has gone, the whole of the upstairs is very badly damaged and there is water damage to the ground floor."

Police scenes of crimes officers were today sifting through charred debris for clues to the cause of the fire.

Initial reports suggest it was accidental but detectives were at the scene carrying out routine inquiries.

Parishioners arrived at the church today to pay tribute. Some were in tears.

Among them was the wife of Albion footballer Kerry Mayo, also called Kerry.

She said: "This is a terrible shock. He married us and baptised our children. He was a lovely guy and was very good to us."

Father David Foley, Dean of Brighton and Hove, said: "He was a good-hearted man who was highly educated, but more than that he was a really nice man."

The vicar of Peacehaven, the Reverend David Hider, said: "He was a man who gave much love to his parishioners. This has come as a horrendous shock. He was a good friend of mine and I only last saw him on Tuesday night. The whole of Peacehaven will be grieving.

"He would help anybody and to him it did not matter what race or religion you were. He did a lot to help bring the community of Peacehaven together."

Father Emmanuel, who was a pipe smoker, came to Britain about 15 years ago after fleeing his native Sri Lanka, where he was persecuted for his Catholic beliefs.

He spent some years lecturing in the Midlands before coming to Peacehaven two years ago.

Arrangements were being made to cover services at his church over Easter.