A patient was taken to hospital after the ambulance they were being transported in caught fire.

Witnesses described two explosions after seeing the patient taken from the burning ambulance on a stretcher yesterday evening.

The victim was taken to Tunbridge Wells Hospital in Pembury and has been discharged with a "clean bill of health".

Helen Burnop took to Twitter to describe the incident last night, she tweeted: "Patient evacuated on trolley from burning ambulance on Colts Hill #scary".

Speaking to KentOnline she added: "I just saw masses of smoke and a patient being wheeled up the road by paramedics."

Kent Police say they were called to the A228 at Colts Hill at 7.16pm.

Becky Lant, was driving along the road when she encountered the ambulance ablaze. speaking to KentOnline she said: "The fire started a few minutes before I arrived but there were only a couple of cars between me and the ambulance.

"Next thing I saw was the ambulance crew pulling the trolley up the road with the patient on it shouting that there were oxygen cylinders on board and that they would explode at any second" - Becky Lant

"Next thing I saw was the ambulance crew pulling the trolley up the road with the patient on it shouting that there were oxygen cylinders on board and that they would explode at any second.

"Everyone literally tried turning their cars around to get away and then the first explosion happened. It was so loud it shook everything.

"It was only after the second smaller bang that everyone seemed to be able to actually drive away. Then the fire engine and another ambulance arrived. It was terrifying."

Another twitter user, @roryisnotalion, described a burning smell inside his house after a "huge explosion".

Police attended to manage traffic in the area while the fire brigade dealt with the fire.

No-one was hurt and the it is not believed to be suspicious.

The vehicle was recovered, the road was reopened and Kent Police left the scene at 10:30pm.

Dr Belinda Webb, of NSL Care Services confirmed that a non-emergency ambulance caught fire during a routine patient transfer. She said: "NSL crew quickly removed the patient from the vehicle.

"Crew and patient were taken to Tunbridge Wells Hospital, where they were all given a clean bill of health.

"We are very proud of the quick, calm, and professional way in which our crew handled this situation. We would also like to thank South East Ambulance and Kent Police for quickly arriving on scene."