A brewery boss says he is completely overwhelmed after more than £18,000 was raised in two days, following a fire which burnt down their premises.

A 17th century barn and brewery in Eridge, near Tunbridge Wells, was hit by lightning on Sunday afternoon, with the building catching fire and spreading.

The barn belonged to a business called Good Things Brewing Co and its founder Chris Drummond said he and his team were "deeply saddened" by events, with the building holding many "fond memories."

Operations manager Charlie Young also revealed to KentOnline that thousands of litres of beer were destroyed in the blaze, and they had tasting events planned at the brewery over the next four weeks.

They had lost about 8,000 litres of beer from the four tanks inside and the liquid in the two containers outside had been ruined, as the building had lost its power and couldn't regulate the heat of the drink.

The fire has also held up plans for more products to be released.

The business set up a fundraising page titled 'Help Rebuild Our Bar', with a £15,000 target set.

Today, the total stands at £18,000.

A statement on the fundraising page read: "Our family and brewery team here are absolutely gutted and lost for words, we have a long journey ahead of us but are so thankful to everyone that has reached out to help so far.

"So many of you are asking to help and we cannot thank you enough for this, we have set this page up for all of those that have asked to support us."

Reacting to the incredible amount raised, Mr Young said: "The support is completely overwhelming. We know we have got an absolutely amazing community support network behind us but to have that put on paper through donations and messages... it's completely overwhelming."

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service were called to the scene at around 1pm, sending six fire engines. This was then reduced to four.

Locals were urged to keep doors and windows closed because the smoke was not clearing quickly, due to the weather.

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