A woman's home escaped serious smoke damage after her neighbour alerted crews to a fire in her kitchen.

Two crews from Thames-side fire station attended an address in St Dunstans Drive, Gravesend, on Wednesday at 12pm.

It is believed the fire started after the woman accidentally turned on the cooker before leaving her home.

Firefighters forced their way inside the maisonette and discovered a wooden knife block had been left on the cooker.

There was no serious smoke damage.

They were alerted to the fire after a neighbour heard a smoke alarm.

Thames-side crew manager Dave Aylwin, said: "Once inside we discovered that a wooden knife block had been left on the cooker.

"It is believed that the resident had brushed past and accidentally turned the knob on before leaving her home.

"Thanks to working smoke alarms in the property, a neighbour was alerted and called 999.

"This enabled our crews to get to the fire quickly, contain it and prevent it from spreading, resulting in minimal damage.

"However, without the working smoke alarms fitted in her home, the fire could have gone undetected and had far more serious consequences."

"Fire breaks out when you least expect it and this incident is a timely reminder to other residents that cookers should only be used for cooking and not as additional storage space."

For more fire safety advice call Kent Fire and Rescue Service for free on 0800 923 7000 or visitwww.kent.fire-uk.org/.