A DISCARDED cigarette is thought to have started a fire in a ground-floor flat early today.

Firefighters were called to the flat in Kellaway Road, Chatham, just after midnight.

The woman occupant had been smoking in her front room. Shortly after going to bed she was awoken by the sound of the smoke alarm going off.

A Medway Fire Station spokesman said: “The fire was a relatively small one, but the smoke from the burning sofa was quite dense and toxic.

“The fire only took a short time to put out and damage was minimal, but the property sustained quite a bit of smoke damage from the burning fumes from the settee. It may not be able to be lived in for a while.”