An attempt to beat the credit crunch may have caused a house fire.

A family left a tumble dryer on overnight and firefighters believe this could have been because electricity charges are lower at that time.

But the machine burst into flames and the occupants had to flee their home at Common Way, Hothfield.

Firefighters had to use breathing apparatus to tackle the blaze, which happened at about 12.10am on Thursday.

Ashford fire station watch manager Clive Douglas said: “It appears this may have been to do with the credit crunch because electricity can be cheaper at night.

“But we would warn people not to leave electrical appliances on overnight. A quantity of fabric dust had also built up in the machine so we would also advise people to keep their tumble dryers clear of this.”

The family, two adults and a girl, escaped unhurt after smelling the smoke even before their smoke detector sounded off.

The flames destroyed about 20 per cent of the ground floor utility room and smoke damaged 10 per cent of the rest of the house.