Fire-fighters tackled a blaze which broke out at a house in Dover late last night.Two crews from the town's fire station were called to Hillside Road at 11.09pm. A fire had broken out in the ground floor lounge of the mid-terrace house.

A couple who were asleep in bed upstairs were woken by the smoke alarm and after trying to tackle the blaze, escaped from the house with their pet dog.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus tackled the fire which is believed to have been caused by electrical equipment which had been left on charge.

Crews left the scene at 1.40am.

Crew manager Darrell Tonks said the incident highlighted the value of smoke alarms and the dangers of leaving equipment switched on overnight. "Had they not had a working smoke alarm in the house there could have been a very different outcome," he said.

"And people should always switch off electrical equipment overnight."

It is the third house fire in the Dover area this week.

A house at Bindon Blood Road, Old Park, Dover, was completed gutted on Monday afternoon.

And on Tuesday, fire crews were called to a house at Old Folkestone Road, Aycliffe, where a chip pan had caught fire.