A woman was recovering in hospital today after a fire in a basement flat.

Acrid smoke filled the flat below Thayers Ice Cream parlour in Seaside, Eastbourne, after a blaze broke out in the bedroom.

When firefighters arrived they found the woman gasping for air with her head outside the window.

She was taken to Eastbourne District General Hospital after breathing in smoke.

Sub Officer Steve Whittlesey, of Eastbourne fire brigade, said: "She was quite a lucky person as it was filled with thick smoke."