Additional reporting by KMTV’s Bartholomew Hall

Four fire engines were called to a blaze at Chatham Docks last night, as thick, dark smoke billowed across the River Medway.

Residents at a nearby block of flats came out onto their balconies at about 9.30pm to watch crews tackle the flames, which were coming from a hydraulic digger.

However, by 10pm, one eyewitness said it looked to be calming down and the earlier smoke which they described as “thick and dark” was easing.

Pictures from the scene show two fire engines with their blue lights on stationed near a white building labelled Chatham Freight.

Plumes of smoke could be seen coming from the same area as it billowed across the sky.

A Kent Fire and Rescue spokesperson confirmed crews were called to a blaze at a freight station on Chatham Docks.

They said: “Four fire engines attended and crews, wearing breathing apparatus, used hose reel jets to extinguish the flames which were coming from a hydraulic digger.

“There were no reported injuries and the cause is believed to be accidental and linked to a mechanical failure.”