Storms have damaged an historic Sussex cinema, exactly a year after it reopened following major restoration work.

The scaffolding that shrouded the front of Bexhill's Curzon Cinema was finally taken down in November last year as the historic picture palace was saved from a bleak future by former BBC engineer Ray Sutton.

Now the cinema boss, who single-handedly restored and runs the venue, is facing another battle after storms ripped off part of the building's roof.

Water cascaded down into the building causing thousands of pounds of damage.

Mr Sutton has now been forced to bring the curtain down once more to begin emergency repairs.

He said: "The damage is quite bad but the trouble is the building itself has a pyramid-shaped roof so it is very difficult to get to.

"The wind lifted a lot of slates and water leaked into the building. We might be able to open soon if the weather improves but it's going to take a lot longer to carry out full repairs."

It is a bitter blow for the self-confessed cinema enthusiast who bought the Curzon six years ago and immediately set about repairing the damage and decay caused by years of neglect.

He has since repainted the interior, fitted a new sound system, supervised the installation of a new screen, added plush new seating and helped paint the outside of the building.

On top of all that he still has to manage the single screen, 100 seat cinema and even mans the projection booth himself.

He said: "This is a problem I could have done without on top of everything else but that's the problem with these old buildings compared to modern cinemas."

The Curzon was opened as the Picture Playhouse in July 1921 by the Duchess of Norfolk. During the heyday of silent films, it stood next-door to the Cinema De Luxe, which has since closed.

The Curzon now stands as Bexhill's last remaining cinema.

Mr Sutton has set up a website to keep movie fans up to date with the latest news at the cinema. It can be found at curzonpp.dial.pipex.com