A young couple and two children had to evacuate their home after a fire broke out in their kitchen when the grill pan caught alight.

The family were able to get out of their ground floor flat in Stirling Close, off Shorts Way, Rochester, shortly before midnight last night (Sunday) and called the emergency services.

Firefighters from Strood fire station were called out to the home to put the fire out.

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue Service, said: “The grill pan had caught alight and had spread to the rest of the cooker.

“The couple did the right thing and got their children out of bed and they all got out of the house.

“We managed to contain the fire to the kitchen, but the cooker had been destroyed by the flames.

“The glass door also shattered during the fire and there was a little smoke damage to the kitchen, but the home was habitable. We left the scene at about 12.40am,”