Rochester Cathedral had to be evacuated after a small fire broke out inside.

Five fire engines were sent to the historic place of worship based at The Precinct shortly after 3.40pm.

Further support vehicles were also spotted in Rochester High Street, near the war memorial.

The fire was quickly contained by firefighters who evacuated England's second-oldest cathedral as a precaution. No injuries were reported.

Police were also in attendance and helped put road closures in place while crews wearing breathing apparatus extinguished a blaze in the building’s air filtration system.

One witness told KentOnline: “They have cordoned off the cathedral itself.

“Police have told us to stay inside and we can’t tell if it has been evacuated.

“At the moment we don’t know what’s going on but some of the firefighters have told us a small fire broke out inside.”

The cathedral has since issued a statement to say it will be closed tomorrow (December 21) and all services have been suspended while it assesses whether any damage has been caused.

It plans to reopen on Friday and expects no changes to its Advent and Christmas service.

The cause of the blaze is not yet known.