Most couples spend months meticulously planning every last detail of their wedding day.

So when Andrea and Robert Storey were left with just 24 hours to organise the big day it was as if their worst nightmare had come true.

The hotel where they were to hold their reception and put up many of their 120 guests was set on fire in an arson attack - the day before their wedding.

The basement function room the lovebirds had booked for a sit-down meal, evening buffet and disco at the Excelsior Hotel, in Kingsway, Hove, went up in flames on Friday.

Within 24 hours, guests, some from as far away as South Africa, were due to descend on the blackened hotel. Andrea, 31, who lives with Robert at Thornbush Crescent, Portslade, was thrown into a blind panic.

She said: "My brother phoned me in the morning and said he had heard on the news the hotel was on fire. At first I thought he was joking. Then the reality of it hit me and I was crying because I had been looking forward to the day so much. I thought there was no way we would find anywhere else in such a short space of time"

The couple were at first assured by the hotel the reception could take place in an adjoining room, but at 3.30pm an environmental health worker told them the whole basement was a no-go area.

Undeterred, Robert, also 31, and his best man Paul Mansell, from Langdale Road, Hove, clocked up 200 miles, driving around Sussex in a desperate hunt to find a reception venue. Family members were roped in and more than 40 hotels were contacted.

Finally, Robert and Paul struck lucky at Courtlands Hotel, in The Drive, Hove, where the manager gave them a beer, sat them down and took a deep breath before agreeing to host the day.

Then there was another frenzied rush to divert the flowers, balloons, cake and try to find hotel rooms for some of the guests. A bridal suite was finally found at the Imperial Hotel in Hove.

The couple were still organising the day 50 minutes before they finally tied the knot at St Nicolas Church in Portslade at 3pm on Saturday. Andrea said: "It was a mad rush but I just had to hope for the best. At the end of the day, I really enjoyed myself."

The couple are demanding compensation from the Excelsior Hotel because they say they were not kept informed, were not given any help to find another venue and were asked to pay the balance even after the blaze.

The manager of the Excelsior refused to comment.