A fire broke out in a derelict building in Lowfield Street last night.

More than 25 firefighters from around the county tackled the flames.

Crews were called at 6.50pm on Tuesday to the blaze in the town centre.

The fire was in a one-storey building behind a parade of shops.

It is believed the building used to be a furniture store.

A height vehicle from Greenwich together with firefighters wearing breathing apparatus tackled the blaze supported by pumps from Dartford, Thames-side and Kent Fire and Rescue Service’s incident support unit.

Dartford's red watch manager Vince Lewis said: “It was a reasonable sized fire. The main problem was that it had spread to the roof of the building.”

Drinkers in The Two Brewers public house looked on as crews tackled the blaze opposite the pub.

Mr Lewis added: “There were still items of furniture in the premises which had caught alight and there was the threat of it spreading to other derelict buildings nearby.”

The blaze was extinguished and firefighters left the scene at around 9pm.

The cause of the fire is being investigated