Elderly and disabled tenants of a block of flats damaged by fire could be homeless for Christmas.

An electrical fault caused flames to rip through the ground floor of Hussar House in Longley Road, Rochester, on Thursday.

Firefighters used ladders to reach two people trapped on the upper floors.

All nine residents were eventually accounted for and are now either staying with friends or in emergency accommodation.

Emergency services have declared all nine flats “uninhabitable.”

Medway Watch manager Ian Simpson said: “Residents can’t go back to their homes. The flat where the fire started has been gutted and the rest were severely damaged.”

A neighbour said: “It’s a terrible thing to happen so close to Christmas.

"There was thick black smoke billowing from the windows and it caused a lot of damage.

“People have been allowed into the flats to get some possessions but they can’t go back again.

"The building has been boarded up now.”