A joinery was completely destroyed in a fire in the early hours of this morning.

Firefighters battled to douse the blaze and stop exploding asbestos in the roof from igniting a nearby house.

The 15 x 4m workshop in Bishopsbourne near Canterbury, which was used to store wood, went up in flames just before 5am.

The intense heat caused asbestos in the roof to explode - threatening nearby buildings.

Four crews rushed to Crows Camp Road after a neighbour woke up to banging sounds and raised the alarm.

Crew manager Trevor Cox said: "The woman was woken up by the sound of exploding asbestos.

"By the time we got there, the whole workshop was completely engulfed in flames.

"As we fought the fire, we poured water on the surrounding buildings and a car to stop them catching alight.

"It was quite lucky it was calm and there was no wind to carry the pieces of flaming asbestos."

Mr Cox said it is not yet known what caused the fire.