Tanning salon owner accuses ‘jealous person’ of causing fire

The owner of a West Sussex tanning salon devastated by fire has said he believes his business has been repeatedly attacked by “a jealous person”.

Fire crews evacuated 40 people from apartments above Tan Tastic, in Broadwater Street West, Worthing, as a fire broke out on Monday evening.

Sussex Police said the fire was being investigated as a suspected arson attack.

Offering a £5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, company director David Williams said the damage was “catastrophic”.

Speaking to BBC Radio Sussex, Mr Williams said he had paid his staff to clean up nearby businesses affected by the fire.

“The attack on the business is heartbreaking, not only for us but also for the residents of the businesses above and around it,” he said.

“Christmas is coming, no one wants to be unemployed and this has affected many lives.”

He said whoever attacked the building, which had previously been vandalized, was “just a jealous person”.

“I don’t want to make accusations. This is not a personal attack, I live four hours from the store,” he said.

With a 10-year lease on the building, Mr Williams hopes the business can reopen.

Standing outside the burned premises, Radio Sussex journalist Sam Dixon-French described how everything was “blackened with soot”.

“There’s just this acrid stench that just came out, that really stings in the nostrils,” he said.

A passerby said: “I’ve seen empty shops in city centers… but to see one that’s so burnt down, where there’s so much destruction, it’s really shocking.”