50 FIREMEN TACKLE SCHOOL BLAZE

Fire swept through the vacant Charters Ancaster School buildings in Penland Road shortly after midnight.

Fire crews racing from Battle and Hastings to assist colleagues from Bexhill and Hailsham could see the flames half a mile away as they approached Glyne Gap.

Eight fire appliances, two hydraulic platforms and an 18,000-litre water tanker brought from Burgess Hill were involved.

At the scene at 3.30a.m., Divisional Officer Mick Bright said 90 per cent of three three-storey block where the fire began had been gutted.

A fire investigation team returned at first light to renew their attempts to establish the cause.

The century-old complex has been the subject of repeated vandalism since being vacated, including an attack with a stolen dumper truck which destroyed a classroom.