Firefighters raced to a school yesterday after smoke was spotted coming out the roof of an adjoining nursery.

A crew attended Acorns Early Years Centre, which is set on the site of Maypole primary in Dykewood Close, Dartford, at 1.30pm following reports of a blaze in a store cupboard.

The school itself has not been affected.

Four fire engines and a height vehicle attended the scene.

Crews wore breathing apparatus and used a hose reel jet to extinguish the flames on the ground floor which had spread to the walls and ceiling.

A member of the team said: "An electrical board had caught fire in a store cupboard which contained chemicals.

"We vented the property with fans but there was a fair bit of smoke damage inside the building."

It took nearly two hours to clear the incident.

Sophie Hill, headteacher at the primary school, confirmed the fire at the nursery and was keen to re-assure parents preschoolers would be able to attend this week.

She said: As it is half term, We have given them access to our school hall today so they didn’t have to close the nursery, whilst the damage is assessed."

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue Service said the blaze is believed to have started due to an electrical fault.

There were no reported injuries.

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