Work will continue on making safe a badly-damaged and fire-ravaged row of flats this morning.

Demolition teams will return to the Oak Tree Road site in South Ashford to resume work after parts of the first floor of the devastated structure were found to be unstable following an assessment by surveyors from Ashford Borough Council’s (ABC) building control team.

The site had been handed back to ABC on Wednesday afternoon following Monday afternoon's gas explosion and fireball that tore the building apart and saw residents flee from their homes or be pulled to safety by neighbours and the emergency services.

Work that started yesterday (Thursday) to make the structure safe will continue this morning.

An inspection by building surveyors discovered that parts of the first floor were unstable. All of the properties have suffered fire and/or water damage.

As a priority, removal of the dangerous parts of the structure is continuing and ABC says "good progress" is being made with the controlled removal of dangerous parts of the structure.

The council says it is anticipated that the removal of the unstable parts will be completed by the end of Friday.

At this stage it remains unclear if the whole building will have to be demolished.

In a statement ABC said: "The existing road closure in Little Knoll will remain in place for the foreseeable future and the site is secured and cordoned off to the public. Residents in the vicinity of the area have been notified of the priority actions and disruption to the immediate area will be minimal.

"Housing officers continue to support those residents whose homes have been damaged. We are working on short and long-term housing options for them which are appropriate for their needs, with some homes already identified.

"We remain in regular contact with these residents and are talking to them regarding their welfare and possessions, transition into more permanent accommodation and the support available from the council.

"The emergency centre remains in place while the Council continues to co-ordinate our response."

ABC has praised local residents for their understanding and generosity towards the site workers - with people supplying them with tea and food.

Affected residents who require priority assistance are asked to call 01233 331111 and then select option 3 then option 2.