Residents have described hearing explosions as a workshop went up in flames in West Malling last night.

Fire crews were called to Ryarsh Lane shortly after 8pm yesterday, and residents were evacuated from their homes while firefighters battled to bring the blaze under control.

A 100-metre exclusion zone was set up around the scene of the incident due to the presence of gas cylinders and fuel on the site, and trains were stopped from travelling along the stretch of tracks nearby.

Today, residents said they feared the fire could have spread.

Susan Roper, who lives in Ryarsh Lane, said: "I drove home from work and I thought 'please don't tell me someone's having a bonfire', then I realised it wasn't a bonfire.

"I dialled 999, but I think someone else had called because they said the fire crew were on their way.

"Then there were explosions and shuddering. The electrics were flickering."

Mrs Roper said her property had lost power in the afternoon before the incident, and it's thought the landowner had been on site at the time of the fire.

And while the blaze had been frightening for everyone, she said it also raised concerns over potential future incidents, as firefighters had been unable to drive engines down the road.

The lane runs from King Street, narrowing from a single track road to a footpath, which meets a dead-end at a railway crossing.

The workshop is the furthest property away from the main road.

"The emergency services had difficulty accessing the lane due to parked cars," she added.

"Had ladders been required to evacuate people, I don't know if they would have been able to get down here.

"I'm not sure if an ambulance would have got down either.

"I've emailed Trudy Dean, the councillor, to request a meeting because I've been concerned about it before."

Mrs Roper said residents spent the evening at pubs, restaurants and relatives' houses, until they were allowed back at 10.45pm.

Crews remained on the scene until 4.30am this morning, damping down.

Today, the site remained cordoned off, and the interior could be seen to be heavily fire-damaged.

Two gas cylinders and three fuel canisters had been removed and left on the lane outside.

Nicole Dixon, who lives in Ryarsh Lane, said she had also noticed lights flickering at about 7pm, while power was affected to her TV and oven.

"Come 7.15 the fire brigade were knocking on the doors to inform us we needed to evacuate due to a fire involving gas cylinders," she said.

"I had to get my three small children out of bed and out of the house. We were unable to take cars as the lane was blocked.

"Also the fire engines could not fit down the lane so all four had to park at the top and shut the high street so they could reel the hoses down the lane."

A Kent Fire and Rescue spokesman said the cause of the blaze remained unknown.