Firefighters spent the day making safe an 80ft houseboat after it caught fire in Hoo this morning.

Crews were called to the Dutch barge, believed to weigh about 20 tonnes, at Port Werburgh Residential Marina in Vicarage Lane at 3.15am.

The owner of the boat was on board at the time but is now staying with a neighbour.

Two firefighters, who were wearing breathing apparatus, accessed the boat and made good progress tackling the fire.

They damped down hot spots while a pump was used inside the barge to remove water.

At its height six fire engines were called to the marina but that was later reduced to three.

A bulk water carrier was used to douse the flames and fire crews worked to protect the barge's gangway and neighbouring ships.

Jill Swann, who owns the marina with husband Denis, said: "The owner is fine. He is on a neighbour's boat at the moment and the fire is under control."

A Kent Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: "This has been a difficult fire to deal with for a number of reasons.

"It is an iron vessel with a high fire load as it is a houseboat. In addition, the stability of the vessel has had to be taken into account, particularly with the high tide coming in.

"Crews have used specialist sprinklers inside the boat. They have also been working to prevent the fire spreading to other nearby boats by using a water curtain spray on either side of the fire, and this has successfully prevented the fire spreading to other vessels."

The cause is unknown. Crews left the scene at 3.40pm.