More than a century of history dissolved into rubble yesterday when bulldozers moved in on the Warnes Hotel.

The famous landmark on Worthing seafront is expected to be razed in days.

The Warnes, a symbol of Worthing's former prosperity, grandeur and style, had been steadily decaying for the past 16 years.

Following a disastrous fire, borough planners had resolved to retain its listed facade and build a replica.

But as the scaffold-shrouded structure further deteriorated, it was condemned to a slow death.

Despite protests from conservationists, the front section was removed and a corner block replaced by a car park.

The decline began when the Warnes closed as a hotel in 1984, with the loss of 40 jobs.

For two years it remained boarded up until a fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday, October 28, 1987.

Fishermen said they saw the drama far out to sea, but were unable to make contact with land to alert the fire brigade.

The flames took hold and as dawn broke the building was engulfed by fire and the sky filled with black smoke which could be seen for miles.

Firefighters fought to limit the damage but when the blaze was extinguished all that remained behind the facade was a blackened shell.

However, planners felt the facade could be saved and shored it up with scaffolding, turning the hotel into an eyesore which rusted over the years.

Crown As time passed, any resolve to create a replica Warnes, containing flats, faded and the facade was torn down.

A corroded metal crown, marking the stay of exiled Abyssinian emperor Haile Selassie during the 1930s, was salvaged by the Worthing Society.

The corner block suffered the same fate after the structure was deemed unsafe.

During the boom and bust years of the Nineties, a series of plans to redevelop the site came and went.

Today, the land is occupied by car park operators NCP, a far cry from the days when figures such as Sir Winston Churchill, General Montgomery and George Bernard Shaw stayed at the Warnes.

Now Roffey Builders is waiting to move in and build a complex of 72 flats in a predominantly art deco style, reflecting other pre-war buildings in the area such as the pier and rowing club.

Last year Roffey submitted plans for 79 flats, but the scheme was blasted by critics who branded it a "monster" which would overshadow the surrounding area.

The revised plans have sparked a mixed reaction, with the Worthing Society conservation group worried about the proposed Georgian-style facade fronting Steyne Gardens clashing architecturally with the south-facing art deco design.

However, Worthing Hospitality Association has welcomed the proposed development.

The Worthing Society has also pledged to hand back the Haile Selassie crown for reinstatement on the finished building to link the past with the present.