An electrical fault is believed to have caused a fire which destroyed half an old farmhouse.

Fire crews were called to Gill House, Cranbrook Road, Goudhurst, yesterday afternoon after the blaze was discovered in the bathroom.

A son of the owners, the Broom family, raised the alarm and escaped from the two-storey house before the emergency services arrived.

Police shut the road while firefighters, led by a Cranbrook retained crew, tackled the fire which spread to the roof. Crews wore breathing apparatus to fight the flames in the roof space.

Firefighters were at the scene for almost 10 hours, dampening down and making the scene safe. No one was hurt.