AN ESTIMATED 55 cars were destroyed in a blaze in a car repair workshop and compound.

Attempts by firefighters to control the fire were hampered by a number of gas cyclinders stored in the building which exploded in the heat.

Police evacuated an area of 200m around the blaze in a unit in the Apriary Busines Park, Gravelly Bottom Way, Kingswood, near Maidstone, amid fears that the flames could spread to neighbouring properties. Residents were not allowed back in their homes until 5.40am.

They also sealed off Gravelly Bottom Road to traffic, while firefighters fought the blaze.

The fire, in the concrete building, was reported at about 10.45pm on Saturday and firecrews from Lenham, Maidstone and Headcorn were called to the scene. They eventually managed to extinguish the flames by 5.40am when residents were allowed back into their homes, but remained on the scene until 2.34 on Sunday afternoon.

Officers from the fire service’s fire investigation unit are still trying to establish the cause of the blaze, but a police spokeswoman said they were not treating the incident as suspicious.