Fire crews were called to a house fire in Gillingham yesterday afternoon after a young boy started a fire with matches.

Firefighters believe the young boy was playing with matches in the upstairs bedroom of a house on Milton Road when the fire started around 5pm.

A spokesman from the Medway station said it was important that matches and lighters are kept out of sight and reach of children.

Crews were at the scene until 8pm. No one was injured in the fire.

Firefighters also spent two hours battling a blaze after farming equipment caught light in Lower Rochester Road, Wainscott. Two pumps from Strood were called out to at 11.30pm on Monday.

Irrigation equipment, poly tunnels and other farming tools were destroyed in the blaze, which covered 400sqm.

One of the crew on the night said: “We’re not looking at this as deliberate ignition. It seems to have been an accident, possibly having spread from a controlled bonfire.”

They left the farm at around 1.30am on Tuesday.