The charred remains of the Western Esplanade beach huts destroyed in Tuesday morning's fire.

by Adam Williams

Three beach huts were destroyed in a ferocious fire along Herne Bay seafront early on Tuesday morning.

Two pumps from Herne Bay fire station were called out to the row of huts in front of Selsea Avenue, as a blaze took hold around 4.30am. A further three huts suffered structural damage and the cause of the fire is still being investigated.

Reculver resident Nathan Walker captured dramatic photos of crews battling the flames and witnessed two small explosions, possibly caused by gas cylinders kept inside.

He said: "The fire really caught hold quite quickly and there was a huge bright light that I could see from as far away as the Neptune car park.

"The firefighters had to stand back some distance after one of the explosions as the flames were thrown quite a way forward from the huts."

The area was cordoned off on Tuesday morning as investigations continued.

See this week's Herne Bay Gazette for more photos and reaction.