A young family fled to safety after a fire broke out at a block of flats in Gillingham last night.

A couple and their children raised the alarm after they saw smoke seeping from a bedroom at their home in Andrews Manor, Britton Street at about 7.30pm.

Firefighters used breathing apparatus and a pressure ventilation fan to clear the smoke-logged apartment on the top floor of the two-storey building.

Crew manager Stuart Wickens said "When we go there everyone was outside. The family did the right thing by closing all the doors to stop it spreading before they got out.

"If it had been later at night and they had been asleep it could have been a lot worse.

"But thankfully, this had a successful outcome."

A team from the Red Cross were called to offer support for the family and an officer from Medway Council which owns the flat, was also called to provide alternative accommodation.

Police are not treating the cause of the fire as suspicious "at this time".