A man who fell asleep while watching the Olympics last night woke up to find his chip pan ablaze.

The man, in his 60s, dozed off in front of the TV in Military Road, Hythe, at just before 9.50pm.

A neighbour saw smoke coming out of the man’s window and rushed to alert him.

Folkestone fire station crew manager Andy Bain said: “The neighbour banged on the door to wake the householder up and also told people in the flat below to get out.”

Crews from Folkestone wearing breathing apparatus ventilated the property and gave the householder first aid and oxygen.

The man was then taken to theWilliamHarveyHospital,in Ashford, as a precaution.

It was the fourth kitchen fire in Shepway in five days and the second directly caused by a householder falling asleep as a chip pan caught light.

Fire crews are now warning people never to leave their cooking unattended.