An elderly woman had to be woken by fire crews in the early hours of Wednesday morning after she went to bed and left a gas hob on.

Two pumps from Thames-side were called to the house in Havelock Road, Gravesend, at 4.30am by a neighbour who reported a suspected gas leak.

A spokesman for Thames-side Fire Station said: "When we arrived we didn't want to wake the lady in case she got up and turned on a light, if a gas leak reaches a critical point, that can be dangerous.

"So we called a locksmith, but while we were waiting for him to arrive she woke up anyway and turned on her bedroom light."

Fortunately nothing happened and she was able to let the fire crew into her house where they discovered the gas cooker left on.

After ventilating the property it was declared safe and they left. The woman was not injured.