Brighton hotel fire guest's trip from Norwich for belongings

Steve Fryer’s passport and clothing were inside his suitcase and have been badly damaged by smoke and water, despite his room at the Royal Albion Hotel in Brighton avoiding the flames.

The 65-year-old and his wife Doris were booked into the hotel for another two nights before the fire on Saturday, July 15 cut their stay short, so Mr Fryer believes he is owed around £500 in compensation.

“We’ve lost the extra nights and paying for trains fares down to Brighton to collect our stuff has come to around £100 alone,” said Mr Fryer, who made the trip in a single day.

“When I got to the hotel on Monday to collect our bags there was just one other couple there.

The hotel is now very different to how Steve first saw it (Image: The Argus)

“A bloke brought our stuff to the door and we had to go through our things on the steps outside. We have had to throw a lot of it away.

“The main thing is my wife’s jewellery, which we got back.”

But Mr Fryer said he is hopeful some of his lost money will be returned.

“I should think we’ll at least get that back because it’s something that should never have happened,” he said.

“There’s definitely something amiss.”

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The couple, who were visiting their daughter, had tried to raise their concerns with hotel staff about a “damaged” plug which they discovered on the first night of their stay, July 14.

The following day they went to speak with hotel staff who were busy checking people in, so they decided to wait in the bar.

But while chatting over a drink, fire alarms sounded and the building was evacuated.

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

Local newspaper The Argus first contacted owners Britannia Hotels on July 17 regarding various issues surrounding the fire but has not yet received a response.