A Chatham man had a lucky escape after he fell asleep while cooking food in a microwave.

The man, who has not been named, fell asleep in his flat in Magpie Hall Road, on Thursday afternoon.

After he nodded off the fumes from the overcooked meal activated his smoke alarm, but didn't heard it go off.

Luckily for him a neighbour heard it and dialled 999.

A crew from Medway fire station were called out to the home at about 2pm.

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We gained entry and woke the man up.

“There were a lot of fumes in the kitchen and he was lucky his neighbour heard the alarm.

“That’s what alarms are for, but it would have been better he had not fallen asleep and had heard it himself.

“The message is, it’s never a good idea to start cooking and then fall asleep.

“The man didn’t need hospital treatment, he was lucky this time.”