DOZENS of people spent Saturday evening in an emergency shelter after police found potentially dangerous chemicals in a Whitstable house.

Officers set up a 100-metre exclusion zone around the semi-detached property in Sherwood Drive and set up a rest centre at the Community College for evacuated residents.

The alarm was first raised at about 8pm and it was more than three hours until experts from the Army's Royal Logistics Corps removed the substances from the house and declared the scene safe.

A total of 24 homes were evacuated and neighbours said it was a frightening situation.

One woman, who did not want to be named, said: "It was all very dramatic, like something out of a film.

"The forensics van turned up on Friday and we wondered what was going on but didn't dream we would all end up being evacuated."

Another said: "We all understood the police had a job to do but it did spoil any plans for a quiet night in!

"At least we got to know the neighbours."

The material was later found to be harmless.

Police first arrived at the house on Friday afternoon and found material they suspected could have been used to make drugs.

A police spokesman said: "On Saturday evening 24 homes were evacuated as a precaution after what was believed to be a potentially volatile material was found during a police investigation of the property in Sherwood Drive."

Kieran Marsh, 34, of Sherwood Drive, has been charged with attempting to produce methyl amphetamine, also known as crystal meth.