Fire crews from Whitstable and Herne Bay tackled a small kitchen fire in Columbia Avenue on Wednesday night.

Two teenagers had been looking after a younger sister at the semi-detached bungalow when they decided to cook some chips. A pan heating oil on the stove was left unattended and caught fire, spreading quickly to kitchen cupboards at 11.41pm.

After raising the alarm, the girls managed to escape by climbing out of a porch window.

Firefighters wore breathing apparatus to bring the blaze under control and cleared smoke using ventilation fans.

Whitstable watch manager Nick Salt said: "The girls were very lucky as the outcome could have been very different.

"The smoke alarms in the property were not working and the front door was locked, restricting the exit."

Crews were stood down just before 0.30am.