Depot blast 'cost more than £3m'

Two fire service staff were killed in the explosion in December

The total cost of dealing with a fire at a fireworks factory in Sussex has been estimated at more than £3m.

East Sussex Fire Authority has been told it will cost £3.15m to replace vehicles and equipment.

The fire service lost nine pumps, three specialist appliances and several cars in the blast at Ringmer, near Lewes.

Two fire service staff - Brian Wembridge and Geoff Wicker - were killed in an explosion on 3 December at Festival fireworks UK Ltd.

'Devastating impact'

Funerals for the two men have been held in the East Sussex villages where they lived.

An investigation is ongoing to try to establish the cause of the fire and explosion at the fireworks depot, at Marley Farm, Shortgate.

In January, the fire authority heard that the incident had "a devastating impact" on the service's resources.

It was told it could take longer than a year to secure a permanent replacement aerial appliance.

But it said appliances and support had come from fire services in West Sussex, Hampshire, Surrey, Merseyside, Strathclyde, Kent and London.