Hoo fire: 'Huge explosion' as fire rages at industrial unit

Image copyright Ben Hodges Image caption People living nearby described hearing a "huge explosion" and said "the whole place shook"

A large fire has broken out in an industrial building and people have been evacuated from the nearby area.

One resident of Hoo Marina, close to the blaze on Vicarage Lane, described hearing a "huge explosion" and an eyewitness said the "place shook".

Kent Fire and Rescue Service said about 200 people had been removed from the area and advised others to keep windows and doors closed.

Five crews remain at the scene after the blaze started at about 04:40 BST.

Mark Woodward, the incident commander for the fire service, said the building was used to store animal welfare equipment and some Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders had exploded in the blaze.

Media captionResidents of Hoo reported hearing "two massive bangs"

Another eyewitness told BBC Radio Kent he heard "two massive bangs" at about 05:00.

"We thought it was a thunder bolt because the whole place shook," he said.

"All I could see in the background was a red ball of fire and we were all told to evacuate."

Image copyright Ben Hodges Image caption Residents in the area have been advised to keep windows and doors closed

Mr Woodward said the blaze had been "well contained" and the fire service was "considering how best to extinguish it".

UK Power Networks confirmed it had sent engineers to the area at 10:00 after receiving reports of an interruption to power supplies to 13 properties.

The power supply to 40 customers was also cut as work continued to reconnect supplies, the company said.

A spokeswoman said the fire had damaged an overhead power cable.

Roads in the area have been closed off by Medway Council while emergency teams deal with the blaze.

Image copyright Luna Frankland Image caption Smoke from the blaze can be seen for miles