Firefighters were called to a smoke-logged wartime air raid shelter in a tunnel near Chatham Railway Station last night.

It is believed a tramp sleeping rough may have started it by lighting a camp fire in the massive cavity in a chalk embankment.

Crews, using breathing apparatus and cordless torches and fans, spent an hour working their way through to extinguish the thick acrid smoke.

Darryl Spicer crew manager from Medway, said: "It was pretty tricky because it was pitch black and the shelter was divided into several rooms.

"There was evidence of somebody living there, like a mattress."

The alarm was raised by a Southeastern worker who spotted the smoke seeping through at about 7pm.

Fourteen firefighters from Medway, Grain and Maidstone attended.