Firefighters have put out two fires after a taxi burst into flames and a caravan was torched.

A crew from Strood were called to a slip road leading to Blue Bell Hill, off the A229 Maidstone Road, in Chatham, at about 11.20am today after a red taxi burst into flames.

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue Service said: "The driver was not on a job so didn't have a fare and was with his friend when they noticed smoke coming from the dashboard.

"He managed to get out of the car but the flames spread so quickly he couldn't even retrieve his mobile phone which he'd left in the vehicle.

"The front end of the taxi was totally destroyed by the flames."

The incident, near Blue Bell Hill, was caught on camera by a Twitter user, named Peter @pjm494 and was re-tweeted by several other users.

Then shortly after being called out to the taxi, as the crew were on their way back to their station, they got another call out to nearby Buckmore Park where a derelict caravan and trailer tent were apparently torched.

The crew said the caravan and trailer tent were destroyed by the flames.

The spokesman added: "We suspect arson."