A Chinese takeaway has been ordered to stop letting people sleep on the ground floor of the building by the fire service.

Li’s Sizzling House in Nevill Road, Rottingdean, was issued with a prohibition notice by East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service following an inspection.

It reads: "The fire authority hereby directs that the use of the premises to which this notice relates is restricted as follows: No person to sleep on the ground floor of the property".

The fire service found that there was an “imminent” risk of injury due to “inadequate protection to the means of escape” and “inadequate fire detection and means of raising the alarm”.

The notice added: “There is no adequate fire-resisting separation between the licensed area and the rear of the property being used as sleeping accommodation.

“In the event of a fire, the escape route would be filled with heat and smoke presenting relevant persons making safe escape from the property.

“There is no adequate system for detecting and giving warning in case of fire on the premises. 

“In the event of a fire, heat and smoke would likely block the means of escape before people could safely make their escape from the rear of the premises.”

Since the notice was issued in July this year, owners of the takeaway have addressed the concerns raised and made improvements.