Builders turning a Victorian brewery in Worthing into flats have unearthed a treasure trove of memorabilia.

They were ripping up floorboards at the former Tower Brewery in Warwick Road when they stumbled across dozens of beer bottle labels, invoices and a ledger book.

Some of the labels had been damaged by damp but most were in pristine condition.

Adrian Ladd, managing director of Worthing firm Format Shopfitting, which is renovating the premises, said: "If Worthing Museum wants some of the labels they can have some."

The labels advertise Oatmeal Stout for Invalids, H Chapman Pale Ale, Wm Younger No 3 Scotch Ale and Chapman's English Ale, which is "strongly recommended to those unable to take ordinary ale, being practically free from sugar."

One of the receipts is dated 1910 while another for corks is addressed to Beall and Co, cork merchants, of 51 Gardner Street, Brighton.

When Beall's closed, the shop was moved to Brighton Museum, where it can still be seen.

The battered ledger, has been badly affected by water and is difficult to decipher.

Workmen are converting the brewery, behind the Egremont pub in Brighton Road, into seven self-contained flats over the next four months.

The brick landmark has been empty for at least a decade after the previous occupants moved out. In 1999 permission was granted for apartments.

The Egremont was constructed by George Greenfield in 1835 and the brewery soon followed, at a time when Worthing was a haunt for smugglers.

Mr H Chapman took over the business and brewed family pale ale. By 1902, Worthing Pale Ale was hugely popular among the poor.

Granville Sharp, a beer analyst of the day, said the ale had great purity of composition and was of a superior quality.

He said: "It has been skilfully and scientifically brewed from the choicest malt and hops and there is an entire absence of all foreign matter.

"This ale is particularly bright and sparkling in appearance, eminently palatable and refreshing, free from acidity and I consider it to be a thoroughly wholesome product."

The brewery has large brick vaults forming the cellar.

But there is no sign of an underground spring, on which many breweries of the era were built to provide a constant source of fresh water.