AN Aberystwyth woman has spoken of the dramatic moment she saw three children and six adults being rescued from the balcony of a seafront hotel gutted by fire in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Daisy Wright who lives on Marine Terrace was just about to go to bed when she heard fire engines racing to Ty Belgrave House.

She looked outside and saw smoke coming from the hotel. She raced to the scene and saw a group of people trapped on the balcony.

Speaking to the Cambrian News, Daisy, 37, said: “There were three children and six adults on the balcony waiting to be rescued. There was smoke billowing out of the room behind them. The fire brigade was just putting a ladder up to rescue them and I thought the fire had been contained.”

But Daisy said flames started to appear at the front of the hotel around 30 minutes later.

“They rescued the group at about 3am I think and about 30 minutes after that my partner Craig said he could see flames. I looked and I couldn’t at first, but then I started to see the first few licks and within minutes the fire escalated.

“The sky lit up red and the smoke got darker and darker and we realised then that it was very serious.

“The flames got higher. It was dramatic. There was debris and ash in the air.”

Daisy said she could see guests from both Ty Belgrave House and the Belle Vue had been evacuated.

“They were doing a roll call of guests from both hotels and then moving people towards the pier, away from the smoke,” she said.

Mid & West Wales Fire and Rescue Service crews responded to reports of a fire at the hotel at 2.21am.

They battled through the early hours to bring the fire under control and Daisy praised their efforts.

“They did a really good job. I understand crews from all over, not just Aberystwyth, came to help. It was a hell of an effort.”

The hotel has been gutted by the fire and Daisy described the scene on Wednesday morning as “eerie”.

“It’s quite eerie now. The Belgrave is still smouldering but it looks like a shell. The roof has gone - we heard it collapse, and there are no windows.

“I didn’t realise that one person was missing until this morning. I really hope they are okay.”

The cause of the fire is unknown but a joint investigation between Dyfed-Powys Police and the fire service will take place.

Roads in the vicinity of the property were closed whilst the incident was ongoing, and some remain in place.

County councillor Paul James also praised the efforts of firefighters in tackling the blaze.

The Llanbadarn Fawr councillor said today: “As one of the fire authority members for Ceredigion County Council, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the firefighters who attended this morning’s fire incident at the Ty Belgrave House hotel on Aberystwyth seafront.

“Due to their professionalism and the services swift response we were able to bring this fire under control and put it out within a matter of hours.

“I congratulate all firefighters who took part in this incident, who I know came from Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Powys commands, but I also believe an appliance was called in from Merthyr South Wales Fire Service.

“Thank you all for your timely intervention and for a job well done, as we know looking at the damage the situation may have been a lot worse?”