A candle sparked a fire in the front room of a home in Rainham yesterday evening and the homeowner and her two cats escaped without injury.

The fire broke out in the living room of the property in Wakeley Road, at about 9pm and the woman was alerted to the flames when her fire alarm went off.

The candle caught curtains alight in the room and the woman was able to get her and her two cats out of the property and called for help.

A crew from Chatham fire station were called out to deal with the fire and spent about an hour at the scene.

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue Service, said: “The homeowner did all the right things.

“She walked out and made sure the cats were out and shut the door behind her and called us.

“It was absolutely the right thing to do and everything was contained for our arrival.

“It was a small fire, the curtains had caught alight.”