Firefighters were delayed getting to a blaze last night because of parked cars.

A crew from Dartford station was called to Tudor Close where a skip full of rubbish had been set alight.

But when they arrived on the scene at around 8pm they could not get to the skip because cars were blocking the road, making it too narrow for the engine to drive down the cul-de-sac.

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue said they had to get out of the engine and carry equipment on foot, so they were delayed by several minutes.

He added: “It was inconsiderate parking. If it had been anything more than a skip fire, we would have pushed our way through.”

It was part of a busy night shift for crews from Dartford - they were called to several deliberate fires.

The first was a Suzuki motorbike which had been abandoned and set alight at the back of Dartford Judo Club.

The flames had spread to grass, setting an area measuring about 50sq m alight. The crew arrived at 8.45pm and were on the scene for about 20 minutes.

At 9.15pm a crew was called to Marsh Street where youths had lit a camp fire in the woodland.

At 4.35am they were called to Chatsworth Road where two cars had been set alight. The Ford Fiesta and Renault Megane, which were at the roadside, were destroyed in the blaze.

At 6am they were called to a moped alight which had been abandoned on a footpath off the A282 in Dartford.

A crew from Dartford also spent four hours at an ongoing hay bale fire in Park Corner Road, Southfleet.

The pile of 400 bales has been burning since Sunday afternoon and crews from north Kent have been taking it in turns to keep it under control and stop it from spreading.