The owner of a Grade II listed house says he is shell shocked after a fire wrecked his home of 37 years.

Fifty firefighters in 16 engines from across Kent were called to the three-storey property off West Street, Hunton, near Maidstone, just after 9pm on Friday.

Andrew Lawrence, 65, was in his home on Gennings Park, when the smoke alarm went off - only to discover there were flames coming out of the top of the building.

He said: “The house is completely wrecked; all the floors are falling onto each other and the ground floor is just full of everything that was above it.”

While the fire service was quick to act, Mr Lawrence said the extent of the damage means “it’s going to take a long time and many years to rebuild.”

Mr Lawrence, who is a director of a shipping company, said: “Everyone’s a bit shell shocked at the moment, but it’s happened and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“It’s a sad situation, it’s just awful.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) Group Manager Nick Dunnet told KentOnline: "It's really difficult for the families affected and we have been working with them to help them get in touch with their insurers.

"Our crews worked incredibly hard to save as much of the building and as many personal items as possible but we are unsure at this moment how much damage has been caused.

"Now because part of the roof has collapsed we can't put people in the building. Most of our fighting is being done from height vehicles.

"Sixteen fire engines is a big incident for us and lots of them would've come from all across the county but with work from our control room we were able to ensure our coverage was minimally affected.

"Most of the building is still standing but there were major parts of the roof that collapsed inwards.

“On the inside there is major damage caused from the fire smoke and water used.”

Mr Lawrence said fire crews will work to determine the cause of the fire later today.

Speaking on the response from fire services, he said: “When we called the fire brigade they turned up very quickly.

“The fire service response has been excellent.”

When KentOnline visited the property, one fire engine and fire crew were still in attendance.

Photo news agency UKNIP shared drone images taken above Gennings Park, a 17th century building in the village.

Gennings Park, was built between 1725 and 1745.

Jane Austen was a frequent visitor to Kent and had many family connections to the county and Gennings Park is “thought to be the setting” for her book Pride and Prejudice, according to Historic England.