A pet dog that raised the alarm during an Aylesford house fire has been credited with saving the lives of its owners.

The dog is thought to have leapt on the bed of its slumbering owners as fire tore through the ground floor of their home in McKenzie Close, Aylesford, at 1am yesterday.

The family managed to escape and alert firefighters, but will have to be rehoused following the devastating blaze which Kent Fire and Rescue say caused "substantial damage."

The fire started when a fuse box malfunctioned and set light to clothes in an under-stairs cupboard.

• See this Friday's Kent Messenger for the full story.