A Norwich couple have revealed they lost their wedding rings and passports in a fire that devastated a Brighton hotel last weekend.

Steve and Doris Fryer were staying at the 200-year-old Royal Albion Hotel, opposite Brighton Pier, parts of which are now having to be demolished.

No one was hurt in the blaze at the 219-bed hotel but the seafront A259 road remains closed and a police investigation has been launched, with some nearby properties still inaccessible.

Norwich Evening News: Strong winds hampered attempts to extinguish the fire at Brighton's Royal Albion HotelStrong winds hampered attempts to extinguish the fire at Brighton's Royal Albion Hotel

READ MORE: Neighbours react after devastating fire in four Norwich homes

Mr and Mrs Fryer were visiting their daughter and granddaughter for birthday celebrations in Brighton on Saturday, July 15.

That evening, Mr Fryer said he went to use a bedside lamp but found the plug to be in a bad condition.

The couple went to reception the following day to complain but waited in the bar instead as staff were busy checking other guests into the hotel.

Norwich Evening News: Steve and Doris Fryer, from Norwich, were staying in the hotel the night it went up in flamesSteve and Doris Fryer, from Norwich, were staying in the hotel the night it went up in flames (Image: Submitted)

READ MORE: Family fled as blaze tore through nearby home in Norwich

While waiting in the bar, the fire alarm sounded before they had the chance.

The couple fled the hotel and watched on from the Harvester pub nearby as their room went up in flames, scorching their wedding rings and passports.

“I didn’t like the look of the hotel when I walked in and I’d never stay there again,” said Mr Fryer, 65.

Norwich Evening News: A plug from in Steve and Doris fryer's room at the Royal AlbionA plug from in Steve and Doris fryer's room at the Royal Albion (Image: Submitted)

READ MORE: 'Missing smoke detector and faulty wires at Royal Albion hotel'

“The room smelled of damp and the wooden windows were rotten.

“When the fire alarm sounded we saw a little bit of smoke as we left, but it just kept getting worse and worse.”

The couple were later told to wait in a nearby hotel but had to cut their holiday short as Mrs Fryer's heart medication was still inside her room in the Royal Albion.

Former guests of the hotel have told Brighton newspaper The Argus that they found wires exposed from a wall in her room, which is thought to be where a fire alarm once was.

 

Another previous guest said a battery was removed from the fire alarm in her room.