Police clashed with revellers as they tried to evacuate a nightclub engulfed in flames — just hours before chart-topper Pixie Lott was due to appear.

Kept away: Pixie Lott was scheduled to appear at the Sugar Hut club

Officers said they were forced into the bloody confrontation when crowds queuing to enter the Sugar Hut club in Brentwood refused to move away.
Hundreds had turned up to see pop star Pixie, who planned to celebrate her single Boys And Girls going to No 1, but she had cancelled her appearance on her way there.

Police were called to the venue — a favourite with models and footballers — to help firefighters manage angry crowds at around 8pm yesterday.

Trouble: Police confront revellers

The blaze made a large section of the building and roof collapse before being put out after almost three hours. Some witnesses complained police had been heavy-handed but Insp Shaun Kane said: “Officers faced a situation of public disorder.”

He insisted the res-ponse had been “reasonable”. A 28-year-old man from Romford and two women aged 16 and 40 from Brentwood were arrested.

Disorder: officers move in

Steve Reynolds of Essex Fire Brigade said a probe had begun into the cause of the blaze, thought to have started on the top floor of the three-storey block.

Pixie finally celebrated with a party for pals at her Brentwood family home.