Five fire engines were sent to tackle a blaze at a derelict school site.

Crews battled the flames at the former St John Fisher school in Ordnance Street, Chatham.

Firefighters were called at around 2.19pm as thick black smoke could be seen billowing from the dilapidated building.

Crews wearing breathing apparatus along with a height vehicle were at the scene and worked to extinguish the fire.

At 3.15pm, the fire service issued an update to say it had managed to contain the flames and reduce the amount of smoke.

As a result, an earlier recommendation to close windows and doors had been lifted.

James Mccartney saw the fire from his home at Garrison Point, near The Brook Theatre.

“I've got a brilliant view of the whole of Chatham, but all of a sudden I just see black smoke appear and a massive fireball,” he explained.

“My nan lives literally right behind it, so I called her up straight away because I was worried about her.

“She told me it looked to be coming from the top floor of the school.”

More than an hour and a half later, the fire had been put out and crews have now left the scene.

There were no reported injuries and the cause is not yet known.

This is the second time this year the building has been set alight, with the last incident in June deemed deliberate.

The former secondary school, which served pupils for almost 60 years, is set to be demolished under plans put forward earlier this year for more than 100 new homes on the site.

Last October about 40 firefighters tackled a large blaze at the building where flames were seen on at least two floors of the building.

The school went on the market last year after pupils relocated to a brand new £40million single campus in City Way, Rochester in February 2022.