The heartbroken owner of a Christmas tree farm told how a devastating fire next door sent his business up in flames costing £4,000.

Billy Roberts, known as ‘Bill the Tree Man’, runs the small family business along the A258 in Dover with his brother and father.

On Wednesday night, the last remaining trees in their stock were destroyed in a blaze which started in an outbuilding at neighbouring restaurant The Swingate Inn.

After weeks of hard work, Mr Roberts says the inferno has devastated the small outfit.

“It's killing me today if I'm honest because I've worked for three weeks straight,” he explained.

“It's only a small family business. It's me, my dad and my brother and it's what we depend on.

“If it happened last week, I don't know what I'd have done.

“The fire started in the outbuilding of the restaurant but we copped the brunt of some of the burning.

“We have basically worked all season to not get a pay packet at the end.

“We've probably lost in excess of £4,000.

“The good thing is every supplier has been paid, and all my family has been paid, it was me waiting to be paid.

“We were two days away from closing because we sold everything, and then this happens.”

Firefighters were called just before 8.30pm and spent an hour tackling the flames.

The fire service has confirmed the inferno started in a shed and spread to nearby trees.

Despite the devastation, Mr Roberts says he is thankful for the outpouring of support he has had from the community.

“People have been messaging us directly, bringing us hot drinks and popping in to offer help.

“We're quite community-based people, we've been there 11 years so it’s nice they understand that this is a small business and hopefully we can sail over this.”