About 280 people were forced to flee the Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkestone in the early hours of Saturday after a basement fire that police are treating as suspicious, with a further 90 residents ordered to leave their homes amid concerns that the blaze may have weakened the hotel's structure.
Kent Fire & Rescue Service (KFRS) said 26 fire engines were sent to the hotel, on Marine Parade, at about 1.05am BST. The fire is believed to have started in the basement, but its cause has not yet been established.
