These 15 pictures show the scene of the devastating blaze which began in the Royal Albion hotel in Brighton last night. 

The fire broke out from a fourth floor room in the hotel in Kings Road just before 5.30pm last night but has since spread all the way to the second floor. 

Firefighters from across the south east of England were called in to tackle the blaze, including Surrey, Maidstone and London crews.

The section of the A259 immediately next to the hotel remains closed to road traffic as firefighters continue to put out the blaze in the first floor. 

Just under 25 years ago the very same hotel was gutted when a fire broke out on the morning of November 24, 1998.