A British woman teacher is believed to be among the victims of a blaze that gutted a Bangkok nightclub last night, killing 59 and injuring at least 180 including a further four Britons.

The fire, probably set off by fireworks, swept through the crowded Santika club shortly after revellers saw in the New Year. Witnesses said some 800 people were packed into the Santika club when they heard a loud explosion.

Early this morning a distraught British man who identified himself only as 'Mark' left a bunch of white roses on the footpath outside the Santika, telling The Times they were for his friend, a 34-year-old woman, who had died as she tried to flee the flames.

"I got a text message from a friend," said Mark, who had not been in the club last night. "Her parents already know." He refused to give any more detail.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman could not confirm the British teacher's death, but said that consular staff in Thailand were helping Britons affected by the tragedy.

“I can confirm that we know of four Britons who have been injured,” she said. “They are trying to get to the bottom of how many British nationals have been involved, either injured or killed,” she said.

According to police, many of the victims died in the ensuing stampede as they tried to escape from the club, which had only one door for entry and exit. Most of the bodies were found in the basement.

Steven Hall, a self-employed contractor from South Wales who was at the club with his new Thai wife, Waranya, said it took clubbers some time before they realised the fire had taken hold. When he saw flames begin to lick across the ceiling, he thought at first it was part of the pyrotechnics show, he said.

"The flames spread very very fast," he said. "It went straight along the ceiling."

“We were all dancing and suddenly there was a big flame that came out of the front of the stage and everybody was running away,” said Oh Benjamas, another witness, who added that clubbers were given sparklers shortly before midnight.

Andrew Jones, a British teacher in Bangkok who arrived at the club shortly after the fire erupted, said he saw corpses charred beyond recognition, and people with burns over 90 percent of their bodies fleeing the club.

"Bodies, some of them probably alive, were falling off the stretchers as the rescue workers rushed them away. The flames were glowing through the broken glass windows," said Mr Jones. "A part of the building had already collapsed," he said.

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