by Lynn Cox

A large vat of rice caught fire at the Veetee Rice factory on Medway City Estate this morning (Wednesday).

Firefighters were called to the plant at about 6.15am after workers saw the container, close to the factory jetty, smoldering.

A crew from Strood fire station spent a couple of hours sealing with the blaze.

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We had a crew member on top of the container as its contents were smoldering.

“We just used our water hose to damp down the rice until it stopped smoldering.

“We left the scene about 8.15am when we were sure it was out, it’s not known how it was ignited.”