Fire crews were called to a seaside town to tackle a large house fire.

Emergency services were called to Grand Drive in Herne Bay shortly before 6.45pm today (Friday).

The road was closed off between Cliff Drive and St Louis Grove.

Plumes of smoke could be seen billowing across the west of Herne Bay and a video showed the flames tearing through the building.

A witness said they could see crews tackling the blaze from above and below the house, which looks to have suffered significant damage.

Six fire engines and a height vehicle were in attendance, with crews wearing breathing apparatus working to extinguish the flames.

Crowds of onlookers were also at the scene.

A spokesperson for the fire service added: “Crews are advising people living near Grand Drive in Herne Bay to close windows and doors due to large amounts of smoke coming from a house fire.

“Please share this information with any loved ones in the area who may be affected but do not have access to the internet.”

The fire service also confirmed they were flying a drone in the area and police were also spotted at the scene.

Social media groups have been flooded with offers of help for the family who lived at the house, including donations of clothes, toiletries and other essentials.

Among them were the bosses of Family Kebab and Pizza, which went up in flames in 2022, who posted to say: “ We are happy to help.

“Let’s support our poor local family. It happened to us a couple of years ago so we know the feeling.”

At 3am the fire service issued an update to say: “The fire is now out but crews are still at the scene dampening down hot spots.

“Two fire engines remain on scene.

“The cause is not yet known. The building inspector is in attendance and Grand Drive is now open.”