FIREFIGHTERS urged people to avoid a residential area last night after a fire ripped through a "nursery".

Fire crews from across the county, including engines from Eastbourne, Bexhill, Heathfield and Pevensey, attended the blaze in Timberley Road, Eastbourne at 5.17pm.

Pictures taken from the scene show the scale of the blaze, with six fire engines blocking the road while crews battled to extinguish the fire.

The Argus: Crews gathered in EastbourneCrews gathered in Eastbourne

The fire is understood to have ripped through a "family run nursery".

Writing on Twitter, an East Sussex Fire and Rescue spokesman said: "At 17:17 we were called to a fire on Timberley Road, Eastbourne.

"Please avoid the area."

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