MP’s office damaged in Lenham shop blaze

It has been reported that a fire in a Kent hardware store has spread to a number of nearby buildings including the Faversham MP’s constituency office.

In all, eight shops were destroyed by the fire in The Square, Lenham which happened just before 4am on Friday, with various other premises also suffering from smoke damage.

At the height of the blaze, six pumps from Kent Fire and Rescue Service were at the scene.

MP Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sports and the Olympics, was away from the office at the time of the fire and only found out about the incident through the Kent Messenger newspaper.

He said:

“I’m obviously shocked. There is fire damage and extensive smoke damage to the office.

“Until we know the full extent of the damage we don’t know how long it will remain closed, but it could be weeks, even months.

“We will do everything possible to keep services on offer to constituents.

“If it’s going to be a long-term problem we’ll have to make other arrangements.

“In the meantime, could I please ask constituents to only contact the office in an emergency.”

The incident is not being treated as suspicious although an investigation is now underway into the cause of the blaze.