FIREFIGHTERS have now declared safe the site of a ferocious blaze which destroyed a warehouse in Kent.

The all-clear was given today by fire crews who had kept a constant watch on the Whirlpool warehouse in Transfesa Road, Paddock Wood, since it was engulfed in flames on Monday.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the remains of the warehouse are to be torn down.

The decision to demolish the building was made late on Tuesday by experts from the Kent Fire and Rescue Service, Kent Police and Tunbridge Wells Borough Council’s environmental health team, along with the site owners Whirlpool and a demolition company. It is not yet known when the demolition work will begin.

Whirpool has confirmed that it is now looking for alternative sites in the area. Investigations are continuing into the cause of the blaze. At its height, up to 80 firefighters were battling the inferno.

The building housed white goods such as fridges and also contained a number of liquid propane gas cylinders.

There were no casualties when the blaze began but about a dozen shocked members of staff at the warehouse were evacuated safely.

Fire crews from across West Kent were called to the incident. Thick, black smoke could be seen from towns and villages as far away as Whitstable and Ashford in the east of the county and from towns in south Essex.

Richard Murphy, 28, who works for the Pinnacle record company on the industrial estate, said: "The whole place went up in flames in a short period of time. I have never seen anything like it."

Another eyewitness, Jill Playle, who works for the Kent Air Ambulance in Marden, said: "We could see a huge amount of black smoke. We heard what sounded like lots of tiny explosions."