Firefighters have issued a safety warning after a Dover family had a near miss with a chip pan fire.

Two appliances from Dover attended a house in Winant Way at around 8pm last night, to remove the heat source and give advice to prevent the incident happening again.

The occupants of the house had left a chip pan unattended. Their smoke alarm had alerted them it was about to spill over.

"They had been using dirty oils," said watch manager Muddle.

He added: "Luckily they had a working smoke alarm which saved the day."

Firefighters recommend that people now use oven-chips rather than the old traditional style but if you do, never leave the chip pan unattended.

For community safety advice and information on smoke alarms, call 0800 923 7000.