A hospice in a Kent town suffered considerable damage when a fire broke out in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The alarm was raised at 2.15am at The Wisdom Hospice, St Williams Way, Rochester.

A fire had broken out in a staff changing room in the basement of the day centre. It is thought to have started because a faulty extractor fan overheated.

Five pumps were called to the scene including Medway and Strood and retained crews from Rainham and Chatham.

The area where the blaze broke out was sufficiently far away from patients so as not to affect them and the building did not have to be evacuated.

Firefighters entered the basement wearing breathing apparatus and were able to extinguish the flames.

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue said: "We were alerted by a fire alarm at the hospice. The fire had spread slightly to the rest of the basement and there is a considerable amount of damage.

"The rest of the day centre has smoke damage. We were on the scene for almost three hours."

No-one was injured in the blaze and staff at a hospice have been praised for their quick response.

Medical director, Dr David Oliver, said the nurses acted "very efficiently" to ensure the safety of patients.