Additional reporting by KMTV's Bartholomew Hall

The owners of a harbour business destroyed by a fire are still being billed for rent - despite the revelation the blaze was caused by contractors working for the city council.

Devastated Elizabeth Bennett, who runs the Crab & Winkle Restaurant and Whitstable Fish Market, has been invoiced for almost £15,000 by the local authority since the incident.

The much-loved business, which she and husband Peter ran, was gutted on May 26 by a fire which started in the neighbouring cockle shed in Whitstable harbour, despite the valiant efforts of firefighters.

In total, £60,000 worth of stock had to be thrown away as the flames melted wiring, cutting off electricity supply to the building.

Speaking to KentOnline and KMTV, Mrs Bennett said: “Our whole world has collapsed. It’s heartbreaking and it’s almost like a bereavement.”

It has now emerged an incident report from Kent Fire and Rescue revealed the blaze was caused accidentally by sparks from a workman’s grinder. He had been working outside near the former cockle shed and the sparks reportedly entered the building through a gap in the wall.

It is understood work was being carried out by contractors on behalf of the city council to build a new car park in the harbour.

However, the council says a number of more in-depth investigations are ongoing to determine the cause.

Mrs Bennett says the council has continued to send invoices for rent and business rates bills following the fire.

“It’s like they’re stamping on my head,” she said.

“We put 26 years worth of work into this beautiful building and in three hours it was totally destroyed.

“Then we found out there was nothing inside, which destroyed us even more.

“And then suppliers were trying to charge us - even though we had been burnt down - and then the city council were charging us.”

Mrs Bennett received demands totalling £10,950 of rent for the period covering June to August, and £3,650 for advance rent payments covering September to November.

“We are sick to our stomachs with Canterbury City Council, who is sending us rent demands,” she added.

“We called the accounts department who said they had no record of the incident.

“We are distraught and we wait for phone calls or emails about what they intend to do.

“Every day we are sitting and waiting to find out what to do, but I am at my wits’ end.”

The city council has also sent Mrs Bennett a business rate bill for £717, which was due at the start of August.

She says she has lost about £900,000-worth of sales since June, including about £500,000 of additional sales due to the consistent sunny days.

And she claims to have been kept in limbo about the future of the building - citing poor communication from the city council.

Mrs Bennett employed her own structural engineer to survey the restaurant and fish market, who said the building would need to be demolished.

However, the city council has since said it can be repaired.

“If everyone pulled out all the stops, we might be able to open for next summer,” she said.

“You have a building which has no sides, roof and needs new steel in it.

“At best, 90% of it has to be demolished and it took us 10 years to build it ourselves.

“We will need an army of builders and plumbers as we’re starting from scratch.

“It could be two years before we reopen, but we are running out of time because we are going into the winter months.”

Four inches of water flooded the first-floor restaurant, from where firefighters battled the ferocious flames - causing significant damage to the flooring and the fish market ceiling.

The council will be responsible for the repairs to the main structure of the Crab & Winkle Restaurant and fishing market building.

It will also be consulting with residents on the future use of the cockle shed site, which has since been demolished.

A spokesperson for the fire service said one of its investigators assessed the scene and advised the cause of the fire is believed to be accidental “as a result of sparks from a piece of equipment at a neighbouring premises”.

“Duty of care was left with Canterbury City Council, whose loss adjusters conducted their own investigation,” they added.

Canterbury City Council spokesman Leo Whitlock says the cause of the fire is subject to a “number of ongoing investigations and discussions”.

“All along we have recognised just how painful and challenging it has been for the Bennetts after the fire at the cockleshed in Whitstable Harbour damaged their restaurant,” he said.

“While the council’s insurance company and their own insurance company have been in direct contact with each other, as is usually the case with complicated commercial claims, there has been an open invitation for the Bennetts to get in touch with us with any queries.

“While we cannot comment on a fire investigation report we’ve not seen, our experts are completely confident the building can be repaired and the work to do so is about to go out to tender.

“The Bennetts have been invoiced quarterly, as dictated by their lease, and we are working alongside the insurance companies to deliver the equivalent of a rent-free period from the day of the fire.”