An overloaded plug sparked a house fire in Maidstone this morning.

Firefighters were called to Courtenay Road at 5am to a bedroom fire, with two engines attending.

Before their arrival, five people had evacuated the property after hearing the smoke alarms, with one man suffering smoke inhalation placed in the care of paramedics.

The blaze was extinguished by 6.15am.

It is believed to have been started accidentally as a result of a plug being overloaded.

Following the incident, firefighters are urging people to take care when plugging items into extension leads.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service's group manager for customer safety and engagement, Colin King, said: "Most people have extension leads in their homes, using four-way bar adaptors to increase the number of appliances that they can plug into a wall socket.

"However, although there is space to plug in four appliances, this doesn't mean it's always safe to do so."

Read more: All the latest news from Maidstone