A former firefighter from Sussex has described the desperate attempts by rescue workers to find survivors in a collapsed building.

Geoff Parkinson, 39, from Battle, flew to Germany on Tuesday night with the charity Search And Rescue Aid (SARAID).

He travelled to the Bavarian town of Bad Reichenhall where the roof of a skating rink collapsed in heavy snow, killing many of the people inside, including children.

Mr Parkinson said: "It is pretty grim."

He watched the body of a young girl being recovered from the wreckage of the rink on Wednesday.

The father-of-two said:

"Children are absolutely the worst thing to deal with. It just tears you to pieces.

"It is very distressing when the work involves a child but, at the same time, it strengthens your resolve."

Specialist machinery has been brought to the scene to try to hold up parts of the building to allow rescue workers more time to search for survivors.

Mr Parkinson and a colleague from SARAID were invited by the German authorities to advise on the rescue operation but when they arrived at the scene, the incident commander asked them to help with the work.

He said: "We were invited to integrate ourselves into the team and we are now doing a proper job. We have had no rest at all but we are being well looked after.

"Everybody is working and pulling together. It is so hard as we know time is against us now.

"It has been desperately cold - minus ten degrees and snowing all day.

"I am not sure when we will be home. We will stay until the building is cleared."

He said 14 bodies had been recovered so far, including three on the day he arrived.

At least 50 people were inside the rink when the roof collapsed after a heavy snowfall on Monday.