A BLAZING inferno engulfed a row of five garages and destroyed two cars in a quiet cul de sac.

One resident tried to tackle last night's blaze with a hose before three fire engines went to Addisham Green in Kemsley, near Sittingbourne, to put it out.

But the five garages were destroyed as the wooden roof was burnt through, doors blew off and walls collapsed.

Dave Robinson tried to save his neighbour's Citroen Saxo by dousing the flames with water from a hose. He said: "One of the doors was open so I tried to hose the car down but the fire got out of hand.

"We heard an explosion first which must have been the petrol tank of a car.

"By the time the fire brigade arrived it was all gone, but give the firemen their due, they did a fantastic job under tremendous pressure because it was really hot."

Russ Underwood lost his Saxo in the blaze and also heard an explosion at around 7.30pm. He said: "It came to our attention when we heard a muffled bang which was possibly a fuel tank exploding. Dave tried to hose my car down but was pushed back by the heat. Once the fire got into the wooden roof, that's when it spread."

A spokesman from Sittingbourne fire station said the blaze was probably caused by an electrical fault in the Peugeot in the middle garage.

A police source confirmed it was being treated as an accident and an investigation is under way. Today the affected residents were contacting their insurance companies to get damage assessments.