A woman and her teenager daughter have been taken to hospital after a kitchen fire last night.

The 16-year-old girl raised the alarm when she discovered the blaze in their Folkestone home at about 11.30pm.

They managed to escape minutes before two fire crews wearing breathing apparatus arrived and checked the three-storey property in Broadmead Road.

Firefighters rescued pet gerbils and hamsters from the house, which was severely damaged.

Both mother and daughter had to be given oxygen and were taken to hospital by ambulance. The family will need re-housing.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service said cooking had been left unattended and the home had no smoke alarm.

They are warning people to take greater care to prevent kitchen fires.

Meanwhile, an investigation is under way after a fire at a house in Gravesend yesterday.

Crews were called to Range Road where a fire had started in a bedroom at just after 5.30pm.

It is not thought anyone was hurt and fire experts are trying to work out how it started.