ABOUT 50 firefighters fought a blaze at a farmhouse in Wickhambreaux in the early hours of Saturday which destroyed its roof.

The alarm was raised by the householder who heard tiles cracking as the fire took hold in the roof space. He was unhurt.

Eight engines, a turntable ladder and specialist water unit were called to the blaze, at Newnham Farmhouse, in Grove Road. Altogether about 50 firefighters from Canterbury, Wingham, Aylesham and Sandwich attended the scene, helped later in the day by colleagues from Whitstable and Faversham.

A spokesman said: “When we arrived we could see the roof was on fire and it looked like it had been going for some time.

"The owner said he had been asleep downstairs and was woken by the sound of tiles falling from the roof.

"It is a big building and in order to get the engines right down to the house we had to demolish about 15m of brick wall.

“It was a very difficult operation, partly because of the remoteness of the site but we managed to save most of the building.

"I think it will need a new roof and the first floor will have to be refurbished.”

The downstairs was damaged by water.

Smoke detectors had been fitted throughout the house.

The cause is believed to be a water tank frost protection heater which came on because of the cold weather and is thought to have developed a fault.