DETECTIVES are investigating a fire which badly damaged a paint shop in Rushenden, near Sheerness.

Crews were called to G&P Site Maintenance Services in Argent Road at about 1.45pm on Sunday to a storage and spray room on fire.

Firefighters from Sheppey, Queenborough and Medway spent 45 minutes tackling the burning building which contained flammable paint tins and aerosols.

A spokesman for the firm, which went into receivership last year following the closure of the Sheerness steel mill, said the building's roof was destroyed by the fire.

The cost of the damage is not yet known, but it will be covered by the receivers' insurance.