A large fire tackled by 40 firefighters at an industrial unit in Maidstone is being treated as suspicious.

The blaze, at Bircholt Road on the Integra Business Park, widely known as the Park Wood Industrial Estate, broke out at 3.18am.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the blaze started at Ecoegg Ltd, based in unit 15. The company makes eco-friendly cleaning and laundry products.

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Company director Rob Knight was unable to comment on the situation as he's waiting to be briefed by the fire service.

Mr Knight, whose company won the Queen's Award for Enterprise last month, said: "We are being briefed by the fire brigade shortly and will have more information then."

Police and fire officers are investigating the cause and detectives were later seen arriving.

Eight pumps were at the scene earlier and a road cordon was put in place, but Bircholt Road has now re-opened.

VIDEO: Our reporter took this video from the scene where police had cordoned off the road

VIDEO: Large fire at industrial estate captured on smartphone. Credit: Philip Head

The closure made access to and from Maidstone Borough Council’s Park Wood depot difficult.

Several bin collections around Maidstone have been affected with the authority warning some collections may not be made today.

A spokesman said: "Every effort will be made to collect residents’ waste today. Please bear with us. The Biffa crews will do their best.

"If we do not reach you today please leave your bin on the boundary and we will collect it tomorrow. We would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding.”

Later in the day, the council added crews couldn't complete all bin collections. Some homes in Maidstone West and Loose areas will have their bins collected tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Royal Mail said road closures meant staff were unable to access the Maidstone Delivery Office.

A spokesman said: "Deliveries are now taking place however, they will be later and lighter than usual. The inquiry office is now open as normal for the collection of items."

The fire has caused traffic problems nearby and dozens of milk floats have been unable to leave the road and make their deliveries. By 9am more people were able to get to work.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service say a height vehicle is being used as an observation platform and there are no signs of the fire having spread to other units.

They have now cut away panelling from the building and its roof to bring the temperature down. There is also a team of firefighters working on the inside of the building and fans are being used to clear the smoke.

Chris Smith, the fire service's incident commander, said the incident had now been scaled back with six engines now on the scene.

Nearby businesses, including the Plumbase unit and a company called ECS had suffered smoke damage.

Others lost business because of the road closure.

Spencer Vinten, a director at nearby Trident Towing, in Bircholt Road, said: "We've had cancellations this morning. We've lost about one and a quarter hours of work. "That first hour is our busiest time. I would have thought it's £1,500, £2,000 lost."He said many staff were late because they couldn't park nearby, adding: "There's abandoned cars all over the place."When I got there at 6. 45am you could smell it, that burnt plastic smell, but there was no smoke.""You can't really see much damage on the outside of the building."

Ben Wiggins, who was on his way to work, said: "We got there at about 5.20am and there was loads of smoke and the road was shut.

"The police said it would be closed for the next four hours."

A Kent police spokesman said: "Officers are currently supporting firefighters at the scene and have closed the road."

Many people trying to get to work have found they cannot get any further than the Motorline Nissan garage on the corner of Cuxton Road.

A worker at Mercedes-Benz Maidstone said there was currently no sign of the fire but there was a smell of smoke in the air. Staff there are at work as normal.

Other businesses were able to trade as normal.

Paul Parker, of Edmundson Electrical, said: "We've got customers coming to the counter.

"We've got a pathway next to our unit so we've just had to park off site and walk in.

"It took two minutes."

Several police cars and one ambulance were sent.

There are also reports of heavy traffic on nearby Sutton Road.

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