Firefighters battled through the night to tackle a blaze at a house in Meopham.

Crews were called to reports of a thatched roof alight at a property in Priestwood Road at 7.50pm on Saturday.

Firefighters from Thameside station were first on the scene followed by a crews from Larkfield and Swanley and a specialist water unit from Larkfield, making a total of five pumps.

Chris Peacock, watch manager at Thameside, said: "The roof was well alight by the time we got there. It was a big house and because it was a thatched roof, we needed more man power.

"We used four jets to tackle the flames from the ground and using ladders. There was a lake in the grounds of the house so we used that for water supplies. We did have crews go inside on the first floor wearing breathing apparatus at one point but this was too dangerous so we had to withdraw them."

Relief crews arrived at the scene at 11.45pm and continued to tackle the blaze throughout the night. Some firefighters were still on the scene at 8.30am damping down hotspots.

Watch manager Peacock added: "There was 100 per cent damage to the roof and around 40 per cent damage to the first floor of the house. The owners were distraught."

No-one was hurt in the blaze. The cause of the fire is under investigation.