Fire crews from across east Kent were called to the former Barwicks headquarters on Sunday night, May 30, after the unoccupied building mysteriously caught alight.

One of the firefighters described the sight as "spectacular" and at one point there were 14 engines at the scene.

The alarm was raised at about 11.30pm and in the morning the two-storey building in Coombe Valley Road was just a burned-out shell.

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue said: "The cause is still under investigation.

"It was a big building, about 25m by 10m, and one of the hazards of the blaze was the old asbestos sheeting on the site.

"We fought the fire in a defensive way, from the outside, and it was soon under control.

"Crowds of people watched the blaze and it was quite a spectacular sight."

Two fire crews were still at the site on Monday morning, damping down the remains of the building.

* For full story see this week's Dover Mercury, on sale on Thursday.