An elderly couple have relived their harrowing ordeal after being woken in the middle of the night when a fire ripped through their neighbour’s house.

Ron and June Wilkinson were worried the blaze would spread to their terraced home in Station Road, Strood where they have lived for more than 50 years.

Mrs Wilkinson, 86, said they were woken by their smoke alarm around 11pm on Thursday and could not see for smoke.

Her husband said: “I looked out the bedroom window and there were sparks and flames flying about. The flames were about eight foot high, I couldn’t believe it, I’ve never seen anything like it. We were worried it would gutter right through.”

They rushed outside to find the fire engines had already arrived. At the height of the fire around 22 firefighters were at the scene.

With temperatures below freezing, the couple joined other residents who had taken refuge in the nearby pub, The Steam Packet, which was still open.

Mrs Wilkinson said the landlady and their neighbours were amazing throughout, offering tea and brandy, and even bursting into chorus of There’ll Be Bluebirds Over the White Cliffs of Dover.

The couple spent the night in the pub before heading back home on Friday morning to assess the damage.

The smell of smoke still lingered in the house, with ash trodden into the carpet, rubble on the floor and a hole in the ceiling which firefighters made to gain access to the roof space.

Next door, the blaze destroyed the first floor of the mid-terraced property and half of the roof space.

Mr Wilkinson, 86, said there had been problems with the house for the last three years, with people arguing, shouting, and piles of rubbish dumped in the back garden.

“We’ve been trying to find out who is responsible for the house,” he said. “We don’t know who owns it. I’ve had the council here to sort the lock on the back door out, the door’s been off for a week and the windows are smashed in.”

The couple said the neighbours on the other side had told them the top bedroom was floor to ceiling with rubbish.

His wife added: “People come and go. There was someone there the night before and last night, we don’t know whether it was started deliberately or whether it was an accident.”

The house was empty when the fire broke out and the cause is under investigation. It is not yet known where the fire started.