Witnesses have described how flames engulfed a country lane after a van was set on fire and exploded.

Firefighters were called to reports of a vehicle fire in Pilgrims Road, Halling, and crews wearing breathing apparatus used a hose reel jet to extinguish the fire.

The fire can be seen in the distance in the footage

CCTV footage from a property half a mile away in St Andrew's Park showed the moment the van exploded in flames at 11pm on Thursday July 1.

One witness, Scott Pierce, came upon the scene shortly afterwards and described seeing the small lane lit up by the blaze.

"I was coming back from a friend's house," he said."I came down Pilgrim's Road and from the far end the whole road was like a ball of flames.

"We stopped to see if anyone was in it, and fortunately there wasn't.

"The next day I drove past and it looked like the guy who owned it was looking at it. I felt sorry for him.

"Another guy saw it on his CCTV camera - it looked like a massive explosion. The engine must have blown at that point."

And he said the situation could have been a lot worse if conditions had been dry and the fire had spread into nearby woodland.

"It's dangerous," he added. "Lots of people go running or walk along there, even at night. If someone was nearby it would have been so dangerous.

"You've also got loads of trees - if that had all gone up it could have spread.

"It's a bit of a shock - it doesn't usually happen here."

No casualties were reported but fire crews said the cause is believed to be suspicious.

Kent Police said immediate police attendance was not required but a patrol attended the scene on the following day.

They also confirmed the fire is being treated as suspicious.

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