Arsonists have razed a beach hut to the ground and damaged two others in an attack now being investigated by police.

Fire crews were called to the scene on Whitstable's West Beach at about 9.40pm yesterday, where they found one hut ablaze.

Firefighters used jets of water to extinguish the flames, which were out by 10.30pm.

A spokesman said: "The property was completely destroyed by the fire and two adjacent huts were also damaged."

The fire is believed to have been started deliberately, and police are now investigating.

Mel Green and Emma Burnham, who run Whitstable Marine Environment Group, own one of the beach huts that was half-burned in the blaze.

"We've lost one wall and some of the roof," said Mel.

"But ours is not the worst - the worst one is the one that has been razed to the ground. There's nothing left of their hut."

The couple have owned their hut for six years, but items including clothing, blankets, and books have been ruined by smoke and water damage.

"There's a black oily residue on every hard surface," said Mel. "Everything in it is damaged."

They estimate repairs to the hut will cost about £2,000.

"Arson is a serious crime but we are grateful nobody was injured," said Mel.

"It could have been a whole lot worse if there had been strong winds. We have a few weeks of costly repairs and cleaning ahead."

But she adds the ongoing crisis in Ukraine has helped put the incident in perspective.

"In the grand scheme of things, no-one's been injured and no-one's been made homeless, and for us that's important," she said.

"We've still got our homes to go home to. We're not really suffering like some people are in the world."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the police on 01843 222289 quoting reference 46/54923/22.