Fire at Papa's Barn fish bar, London Road, Ditton. Picture courtesy Mark Jarvis

A well-known fish and chip restaurant was severely damaged by fire overnight.

Papa’s Barn on London Road, Ditton, was engulfed by flames at around 4.30am on Saturday morning (January 9).

Four fire crews – two from Larkfield and two from Borough Green – and a height vehicle were at the scene for several hours.

Eyewitness Ellis Viner, who lives directly opposite the restaurant, said: “The alarm went off at 4am, which woke me up and then about 20 minutes later we could see smoke coming from the roof, and we called the fire brigade.

“The snow was melting really quickly off the roof. Three or four minutes later the whole roof was alight. It was quite dramatic.”

He also said he had spoken to owners, brothers Michael and Theo Papa-Adams, who he said were “distraught”.

A fire and rescue service spokesman said the building had been severely damaged. An investigation into the cause of the blaze will be carried out.