A HUGE effort from 24 firefighters took place tonight as fire broke out in the grounds of a derelict Sandown hotel.

The Grand Hotel, long time empty and disused, was again the scene of a fire, when outbuildings at the back went up in flames.

A spokesperson from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service said around 24 firefighters attended the scene after the call came in at 5.28pm.

Appliances were sent from Sandown, Shanklin, Newport and Ryde.

Isle of Wight Police were also in attendance and helped with traffic control — with the road still open to traffic.

Isle of Wight County Press:

Eyewitnesses say the fire looks under control and not spreading, and it looked like the same buildings as were on fire in October.

The derelict site, in a prominent seafront location, has long attracted vandals.

Isle of Wight County Press:

Thanks to Paul Coulesant of Sandown Hub for the pictures.

A live webcam overlooking Sandown Bay was streaming the action via isleofwight.com too.

UPDATE 9.35pm: The fire started in annexe of the hotel and grew to 32m x 16m. Crews used ten breathing apparatus, one hose reel and one jet to extinguish the fire.

Station manager Simon Packer said: "Sandown and Shanklin crews were first in attendance and were confronted with a well developed fire in a disused outbuilding.

"Hard work by all of our attending crews quickly brought the fire under control.

"Crews were detained for some time damping down. Our thanks goes to Isle of Wight Police for their assistance at the incident."