Picture by Max Hess

A flat was badly damaged when fire broke out in a three-storey house on Sunday.

Thirty firefighters tackled the blaze in St John’s Church Road, Folkestone.

The house has been converted into three flats, one of which was virtually destroyed.

The rest of the property was affected by heat and smoke and the roof also partially collapsed. It is not known if anyone was in the house at the time.

The alarm was raised at 12.39pm and crews from Folkestone, Hythe, Dover and Ashford attended.

Firefighters wore breathing apparatus and used ladders to tackle the blaze from inside and out. They left the scene at 5pm.

The cause of the fire is being investigated by fire officers and the police.