More than £6,000 has been raised to help a couple whose home was devastated by a fire close to a village pub.

The blaze has "turned around" the pair's lives and now in less than 48 hours, villagers have donated thousands to support them after the fire.

Large parts of the property have been destroyed by the flames and one person suffered burns and smoke inhalation during the incident in Teston Road in Offham, West Malling on Saturday night.

It started in the roof at about 7pm and at one point needed seven fire engines to tackle it.

Now, the nearby The Kings Arms, with the help of Offham Parish Council, has helped raised £6,600.

Organiser Matthew Scullion said: "As everyone knows, we are a very close community and a terrible disaster has turned two peoples lives in the village around, losing their house to a fire.

"We would like to help support Will and Debbie as much as we can. We know whatever we do won’t be enough but any little helps.

"Every little will help with the burden..."

"They have not just lost a house they lived in for over 50 years but also all their possessions and memories.

"Every little will help with the burden, even if it’s to pay the bills of turning the electric and gas off from the building costing close to two grand."

Brave punters at the boozer sprang into action before the emergency services arrived at the scene.

A statement on the pub's Facebook page said: "Our thoughts are with the home owners at this horrible time.

"They would like us to say a massive thank you to everyone who helped last night.

"We would also like to say a massive thank you to our regulars who went out to help before the fire engines turned up. You are amazing!"

Teston Road was closed for several hours as crews battled the flames.

By 10.12pm, four fire engines and the height vehicle remained.

One fire engine remained at the house on Sunday morning.

A spokesman said: "The fire is now believed to be out and crews are monitoring the property to check for any remaining hotspots.

"One person was passed into the care of South East Coast Ambulance paramedics as a precaution, after inhaling smoke during the incident.

"They had also sustained slight burns to their arm and and hand. The cause of the fire is not yet known."