Fire investigators have sifted through the wreckage of a listed building in Kent to discover the cause of a severe blaze.

The four-storey property in a Georgian terrace in Cecil Street, Margate, is a blackened and charred shell after the blaze engulfed it early on Wednesday.

At the height of the drama, around 70 firefighters were at the scene. The fire developed on the third and fourth floors of the former Conservative club before spreading into the roof space and to an adjacent building. Eight people were evacuated.

Local councillor Iris Johnston said every effort must be made to restore the "lovely old building" to its former glory.