The bales had to brought down from the second floor to be doused

Fifteen tonnes of hops have been affected by a fire at one of the biggest hop products companies in the world.

Ten fire crews with about 60 firefighters were called to tackle the fire at Botanix which is based in Paddock Wood in Kent.

The fire brigade were first called to the incident in Hop Pocket Lane on Sunday at 1300 BST.

In total 190 bales of hops in the warehouse were damaged by flames.

No-one trapped

Firefighters were forced to carry the smouldering hops down from the second floor of the four-storey building because the bales would have been too heavy if soaked with water.

Each bale was carried down one by one to enable crews to locate the seat of the fire.

Senior divisional officer Alex Dunnett said: "It is hops alight that are baled in about eight kilo bales.

"The problem with hops is once they are on fire they give off lots of smoke making it very difficult to fight a fire."

No-one was hurt or trapped in the fire but staff from a nearby factory were evacuated.

Botanix markets more than 50% of the UK hop crop and is also one of the biggest hop products companies in the world.

It also makes essential oils and natural chemicals from hops.