Firefighters have reminded people to check their smoke alarms after a woman and five children escaped uninjured from a house fire in Willesborough.

Both the electrically powered and back-up battery powered smoke alarm systems in the house failed to activate.

It was only the sound of a child coughing that woke the mother and alerted her to the blaze which started in the downstairs kitchen of the two-storey terraced house in Earlsworth Road on Sunday just before 5am.

Discovering the house was full of smoke, the woman quickly got her children, including a baby, out of the building and raised the alarm.

Ashford Watch manager Mark Thomas said: “Fire crews wearing breathing apparatus contained the fire damage to the kitchen.

"The home sustained some smoke damage but the luckily the occupants escaped unharmed.

“This is very much down to the mother's prompt actions in getting everyone out and staying out of the building.

“It is unfortunate and extremely rare for hard-wired smoke alarm systems to fail, but the advice is to always be prepared for this eventuality and get in to a routine of regularly testing the batteries in back-up devices.”

The fire is being treated as accidental and is believed to have started in an extractor fan.

To arrange a free home fire safety check or to find out more call Kent Fire and Rescue Service on 0800 923 7000 or visit their website www.kent.fire-uk.org