A youngster's birthday party turned to disaster when a house in Eastbourne was almost destroyed by fire.

A grandfather and three children were celebrating at home in Carisbrooke Close when they noticed flames and smoke pouring from an upstairs bedroom.

The occupants fled from the council-owned house and called the fire brigade.

Sub Officer Steve Wright said: "The whole of the top floor of the house was badly damaged. One bedroom was completely destroyed and the hallway and other rooms were badly damaged by the smoke."

One resident who had a narrow escape from the blaze, at 3.20pm, was the family's pet iguana.

He was spotted in the house by firefighters, put in a dustbin and carried out to his worried owners.