A dog was rescued from a house blaze and treated with oxygen therapy yesterday.

Charlie the Cocker Spaniel was trapped in a house in The Street, in Mersham, around 4.48pm when the kitchen fire started.

Firefighters were at the house in minutes after being alerted by an automatic fire alarm and a neighbour who smelt smoke.

They borrowed a key from a neighbour and let themselves into the smoke-logged house.

They found the pet in a distressed state in the kitchen with evidence he had inhaled a lot of smoke.

Crews extinguished the small fire, which they believe had been caused by a tea towel accidentally left on an Aga.

The three and a half year old pet was rescued from the building and treated with a Smokey Paws pet oxygen mask.

Charlie's owner was contacted and he was taken to the vets but is expected to make a full recovery.

Crew manager Tim Hanley, said: "The occupier was out and luckily they had a smoke alarm, which we were alerted by.

"If they hadn't had one, we would not have known about the fire until it was much worse and Charlie may not have been so lucky."

While at the home, they also fitted another smoke alarm on the ground floor and gave home safety advice to neighbours.

The Smokey Paws pet masks had been donated to the Ashford team by a charity just six months ago.

Mr Hanley said they have made a huge difference to the their work, as before they just had to 'make do' with normal masks.