A BLAZE tore through a building in a Kent town centre on Saturday destroying two businesses.

Around 30 firefighters spent more than four hours tackling the fire in Church Street, Chatham.

The two-storey building, which houses a tanning salon and a tattoo parlour, has been completely gutted.

The blaze began in a store room at back of the ground floor shop but quickly spread.

Firefighters were called to the scene at around 11am. They began to douse the flames but soon discovered the fire had burnt away the electric meter, leaving exposed cables.

It was too dangerous to use water on the flames until the electricity supply was turned off. During this time the fire spread to the first floor of the building.

Police cordoned off the area and about a dozen nearby shops, cafes and hairdressers had to be evacuated. Smoke poured from the building and one of the first floor windows exploded into the street.

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue said: "The fire was started by an electrical fault at the rear of the building. When we arrived the whole of the ground floor was alight.

"It was extremely dangerous because the meter had been burnt out."

Firefighters were on the scene until around 3.30pm. No-one was hurt in the incident.

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