A man had to be rescued from his flat in Homemead Court in Gravesend, during the early hours of Sunday morning after falling asleep while cooking chips.

Firefighters from Dartford, Swanley and Strood, were called out to the high-rise building after reports a corridor was full of smoke.

Crews got the call at about 3.30am and had to wake the man up by banging loudly on his front door.

When they managed to awake him and gain entry to the flat they found the chip pan had got too hot and had filled the home with smoke.

As a spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue Service, said: “The crew got in just before the chip pan ignited.

"The man, who was in his 20s, was very lucky his neighbour had heard the smoke alarm, as it saved his life really.

"We used our positive pressure ventilation fan to get the smoke out of the building and spent about an hour at the scene."