A family had a lucky escape when fire broke out in a newsagents at Dover on Thursday night.

The family, who live above Bridge Street News, were alerted by smoke alarms which went off in the shop and in the flat above, where they lived.

It is believed a fault with a refrigerated counter in the shop caused the blaze, which happened just after 9.15pm.

The man who runs the shop was asleep in the flat above, but his wife heard the smoke alarm in the shop, and then the alarm in their flat also went off. They managed to get out of the building safely.

Two fire crews from Dover and one from Whitfield were called to the scene and they used breathing apparatus to tackle the blaze. The road was closed for some time.

The shop was severely damaged.

A fire service spokesman said the incident showed the value of the having smoke alarms installed and to ensure that they are working.