A woman was taken to hospital last night after a fire broke out in a converted barn.

The blaze started on the ground floor of the two-storey barn on farmland off Washington Road in Steyning just after 7.30pm.

A small part of the ground floor was badly damaged and the rest of the building suffered serious smoke damage.

Fire crews from Steyning and Shoreham used ventilation equipment to clear the building of smoke once the fire was out.

The woman, who was already out of the building when firefighters arrived, was taken to Worthing Hospital suffering from the effects of smoke.

Investigations were continuing today into the cause of the blaze.