by Martin Jefferies

More than 25 firefighters were called to a rural Thanet barn after an arson attack late yesterday afternoon.

The barn, in Monkton Street, Monkton, was set alight at around 4.30pm. It was being used as a storage centre for a collection of bric-a-brac items.

Five teams, including crews from Thanet (Westwood), Margate and Ramsgate, spent almost five hours tackling the blaze.

A spokesperson for Kent Fire and Rescue said dangerous asbestos contained in an old corrugated roof had to be suppressed with water. Firefighters did not require decontamination facilities, he said.

The Monkton blaze is the latest in a string of barn fires across Kent.

On Tuesday evening, 120 tonnes of straw worth an estimated £10,000 caught fire in Botolphs Bridge Road, West Hythe. Fire crews said it was largest stack fire in the county for 25 years.

Last week, more than 10,000 bales of hay were destroyed in another blaze at Church Hougham, near Dover.