Two people were rescued from a balcony during a blaze at a block of flats on the same estate where another building was devastated by a fire in September.

Six crews were called to tackle the flames in Lambe Close, Snodland near Larkfield, and managed to contain the fire to an electrical cupboard on the third floor.

A man and woman have been treated for smoke inhalation at the scene and placed in the care of paramedics.

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The ambulance service said that one person was taken to Maidstone Hospital.

No one else was injured, and the building was safely evacuated. Most residents are now back in their flats while the two who had to be rescued will need to be re-homed.

Karen Pointer, group manager for Kent Fire and Rescue, said: "The occupants have done a fantastic job, they have identified the fire, closed the cupboard, closed the doors to all of their property.

"Unfortunately they were unable to escape down the normal stairwell so our crews have attended and done a rescue from the balcony of two residents and simultaneously put the fire out."

The fire was potentially due to an electrical fault but an investigation has been launched to establish the cause.

Lauren Marsh, 26, who lives in the adjacent block and was evacuated at around 9.30am, said: "We saw lots of fire engines outside and thought the worst. A resident from the top floor buzzed us and told us to get out. Everybody in the block was evacuated - probably about 40 flats.

"There's not as many as last time because it's a Friday rather than a Saturday but there are a lot of kids still on holiday and people are a bit more panicky because of last time. I've been having panic attacks since September.

"We were allowed to come back about 11am but the communal hallway stinks. People came over with drinks and snacks and have sat with my son, Teddy, 4, because last time affected him quite badly.

"He was petrified. Last time we didn't manage to grab his favourite bear and we had to stay in a hotel for a week without it.

"This time, we were able to grab things like that and bottles for my four-month-old daughter who's been through it twice now - she was just four weeks old last time. Obviously she's too young to know what's happening but she was screaming."

Fire service volunteers, members of the committee at Holborough Lakes and Berkely Homes staff are helping residents with emotional and welfare support.

Andrea Bullman who lost everything and had to be evacuated in the September fire is now living in south east London.

She has been given a timescale of around 16-18 months before she can move back to Snodland.

Her flat was underneath the one which caught fire just a few months ago.

Speaking about the latest blaze she said: "I imagine given what happened any resident who hears they need to get out will feel a mixture of fear and panic."

Tonbridge and Malling council are also reported to have sent officers to the scene.

Crews wearing breathing apparatus entered the building and used a hose reel jet to tackle the flames.

A spokesperson from Berkely Homes said: "There was a small fire in a flat cupboard which was quickly dealt with by the Fire Brigade.

"We are liaising with both the Fire Brigade and the residents affected to provide any assistance we can."

The fire that ripped through the apartments last year left 22 homes uninhabitable and 43 people homeless.

An investigation by Kent Fire and Rescue Service found the fire started on the balcony of a third-floor apartment in Lambe Close, Manley Boulevard, but was unable to determine the cause.

Initially put up by Berkeley in local hotels, all the tenants are now in semi-permanent lodgings, or have moved in with relatives and friends, while waiting for their homes to be rebuilt.

Holborough Lakes is one of Berkeley's biggest UK projects and is built on a former chalk quarry with the first homes completed in 2009.

Two-bedroom flats start at £320,000 rising to £629,000 for a four-bedroom house. Homes are set around several freshwater lakes and landscaping.

The developer was also behind the nearby Leybourne Lakes development and both sites are designed in New England style architecture featuring painted wooden walls.

It was the first of Britain's large housebuilders to use Super E timber frame technology, an energy efficient system to make heating homes easier and which includes air filtration technology.

The estate has a primary school - Valley Invicta Holborough Lakes which opened in September 2015 to ease overcrowding on nearby sites.

A fire also broke out on the estate in 2008 in Poynder Drive. At the time a stray firework was blamed for the blaze that started in waste bins and spread to the block.