A HUGE fire ripped through Courts Furnishings in New Dover Road, Canterbury, yesterday afternoon destroying everything inside.

The city was brought to a standstill as police cordoned off the area, while around 80 firefighters from crews as far away as Medway tackled the blaze.

The fire started at about 1pm inside the store, which was closed to the public but remained full of sofas, beds and chairs.

The two members of staff still working there were safely outside the building when it took hold.

Around 500 workers at the neighbouring BT offices were immediately evacuated. All were accounted for and there were no reports of any injuries.

When the emergency services arrived on the scene, there was no sign of flames, but the smoke was thick, black and spreading fast.

The wind sent it across St George’s Place and New Dover Road and at 2pm police dispersed the growing number of onlookers and widened the cordoned off area.

The smoke was so thick as to trigger alarms in nearby properties, adding to the confusion as firefighters were forced to check as many as they could. The traffic chaos meant additional emergency vehicles had trouble finding a way through.

A first aid post with oxygen was set up while staff at Blockbusters, Safeway, other businesses, and students from Canterbury College and Stafford House, plus several residents were evacuated. Some were treated for minor smoke inhalation at the scene.

The fumes from the burning beds, sofas and chairs could be smelt as far away as Sturry Road.

Workers in the crown court building, in Chaucer Road, off Military Road, were told to go home early because of the smoke and traffic chaos.

At one point, the cordoned off area stretched from Longport across to Oaten Hill, and from St Augustine’s Road down New Dover Road to the Lower Bridge Street roundabout at the city wall.

Chris Williams and Lee James both work in the BT building next door. They were among many left stranded by the fire.

“It started off quite tamely, then it just took off,” Mr Williams said. “My car keys are trapped in the office and so are his house keys. There’s nothing we can do but wait.”

Libby O’Toole, one of Courts staff still based at the disused store, said: “I was on my lunchbreak when I saw all this smoke and commotion. A policeman had to tell me what was going on.”

By 3pm, flames could clearly be seen flickering over the walls of the Courts building. The fire was brought under control at about 4.15pm. The cause is still being investigated

*Canterbury is the home of the international Courts retail group. In 1850, Henry Court opened a tinkers business in Butchery Lane, mending and making kettles and pans. He gradually moved into furnishings as the company grew.

A SMOKE alarm going off saw BT staff evacuated from their offices next door to Courts Furnishings for the second time in 24 hours this morning. The alarm went off at about 10am.

One staff member said: "We were told to leave the building because of a smoke alarm somewhere in the building. I don't think it's serious and expect to be going back inside pretty soon."

A fire investigation team is at the remains of the Courts building along with a crew on a watching brief.

A Kent Fire and Rescue spokesman said: "We have one crew on site damping down hot spots.

"We can't say how long the investigation team will take to report their findings. It is very early days and we have no further information on the probable cause of the fire at the moment."