Three people had to be rescued after a warehouse caught fire next to a block of flats.

A man and woman managed to climb onto a roof during the blaze, which started in an antiques warehouse at about midnight last night.

A second man had to be pulled to safety through a window.

The fire started in an antiques warehouse attached to Seagull House, a two storey block of seven flats at 371 Bexhill Road, St Leonards.

Most occupants had managed to escape by the time fire crews arrived. Four fire engines from Hastings and Bexhill were sent the scene together with a rescue ladder. Eighteen firefighters went into the building to check if anyone was trapped.

The two people plucked from the roof were taken to hospital with smoke inhalation.

Graham Geer, watch manager from Hastings fire station, said: "The fire was in the ground floor store room. It was quite a serious fire and it affected quite a lot of the ground floor hallways and the first floor hallways.

"We rescued three people by ladders, two from a roof and one from a window. A man and a woman went to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. Everybody else had got out by the time we got there.

"It took us quite a while to see we had got everyone out because several other people had left the building.

"The flats and the building were severely damaged by smoke throughout. The ground floor store room, hallway and stairway were severely damaged as well."

Firefighters stayed on the scene until 3.24am to make sure the fire was safe. They returned this morning to investigate how it started.

Residents have still not been allowed back in their homes.