AN INVESTIGATION is being carried out into the cause of a blaze which destroyed a warehouse.

Firefighters were called to the scene at around 10pm on Tuesday after people living nearby saw flames and smoke pouring through the roof of a warehouse on Priory Road in Tonbridge.

Due to the size of the rapidly spreading fire the Tonbridge crew requested back-up on arrival, and a specialist hose unit was brought in.

Eight fire crews and two light vehicles were called to tackle the blaze throughout the night but could not prevent it from destroying the contents of the building, owned by lamp manufacturers, Heathfield & Co.

No one was hurt in the incident but firefighters were still on the scene 12 hours later damping down hot spots.

Nick Jones, Station Officer, from Dover District Fire Safety Office, was incident commander at the scene and said they had not been able to enter the warehouse as it had been declared structurally unsound.

He said: “There was no one inside and the fire was not in danger of spreading to nearby buildings, so we adopted a defensive mode and fought the fire from the outside.”

He also explained that trains travelling on a railway only yards from the warehouse had to be placed under caution due to thick smoke coming from the fire.

Nina Arnott, head of corporate affairs for South Eastern Trains, said: “Although trains had to slow as they passed the scene of the fire, there was no impact on services and all arrived on time.”

Among the bystanders this morning was Phil Stokes, a warehouse worker for Heathfield & Co and cousin of warehouse key-holder Linda Meggs, who both watched the blaze take hold.

He said: “It was quite upsetting. To start with, there was smoke and flames coming from the corner of the building and then it just spread across the top floor.”

He added that materials within the building, including lamp shades, solvents and cardboard would have fuelled the fire.