Demolition teams are tearing down two derelict buildings that have sat abandoned for years.

The roof on one half of Albert Villas in Chart Road, Ashford, came crashing down shortly after midday.

Debris is now slumped on the floor in front of the former homes behind a flimsy metal fence next to the road.

Adam Ellender, from Hythe, was driving along Chart Road just seconds after the roof came down.

He said there was “a cloud of dust” which at first he thought was smoke.

“Nothing was in the road but about 50% of the building just collapsed,” the 30-year-old added.

“All of the tiles from the roof were at the side of the road.

“It was surreal. If it had gone slightly wrong it could have been very different.”

Resident Jemma Brooker, who lives opposite, says she is surprised the road wasn’t closed off.

The 29-year-old added: “I went out this morning and it looked normal but I came back two hours later and it looked like that.

“It doesn’t affect us living here but is an eye-sore and it worries me that children previously seemed to go in and out of it.

“This morning seemed very uncontrolled in the way it was knocked down and I’m shocked the road was not closed as the debris is very close to the road.

“I don’t know what will be better – a big ugly building or what it will be replaced with.”

The building, which is privately owned, has broken bricks, smashed windows and has been fenced off for years.

In May last year, a fire ripped through the structures, leaving them unstable.

Four fire engines and a height vehicle were at the scene, with residents saying they could see black smoke billowing up to 30 feet into the sky.

Crews say the blaze was started deliberately.

Shortly afterwards, Ashford Borough Council (ABC) said demolishing the building could be “the only option” depending on surveys.

A sign with a demolition notice was attached to the building in March last year, submitted by developers Project Build One Ltd.

The demolition was dated for May 2022 but work has only just started.

In recent years there have been reports of people entering the semi-detached houses - and even of catapults being fired at passing cars from them.

In 2017, an outline planning application was approved for two new dwellings to the side of existing houses alongside new access and car parking. However this has since expired.