A woman was almost killed in her home after being overcome by smoke.

Police struggled to batter down the door to reach her but firefighters smashed in and saved her.

The fire broke out in the woman's bedroom in Christchurch Way, Dover, on Saturday morning.

The alarm was first raised when neighbours heard cries for help from the ground floor flat in Buckland.

Police arrived first and discovered someone trapped in the flat.

They called the fire brigade and tried to help by breaking some of the windows and the door.

Three fire engines rushed to the scene and crews, wearing breathing apparatus, used breaching equipment to smash into the heavily smoke-logged flat.

They found a woman in the lounge overcome by smoke.

She was taken out of the property and given first aid and oxygen therapy.

The victim was then passed to the care of South East Coast Ambulance Service.

Firefighters put out the blaze in a bedroom and managed to contain the fire damage to a mattress and some clothing.

But the thick smoke caused severe damage to the rest of the flat.

Dover crew manager Adrian Hawkins said: “Unfortunately, there were no working smoke alarms in the flat to warn the resident of the fire, and therefore by the time she woke up the smoke was too heavy for her to find her way out. If the alarm hadn’t been raised by neighbours and our police colleagues, the outcome for the resident could have been even more serious.

“The police officers really should be recognised for the amount of effort that they put into trying to reach the occupant in the circumstances they were faced with.”

“I would urge everyone to check that they have working smoke alarms fitted in their homes to ensure they will alert you in the event of a fire, and if you haven’t got any fitted, please do it today – it could just save your life.”

The cause of the fire, which is believed to have been caused by a cigarette, is being treated as accidental.