A cooker caught alight last night after the grill was left on by accident.

Firefighters said it was lucky the blaze in Holly Road, Wainscott, which set alight the wiring in the gas cooker, did not spread further.

It happened at 9.30pm while a woman in her 40s and two teenagers were in the house.

Watch manager Ian Simpson, from Strood Fire Station, said: "The owner thought she had turned the grill off but she hadn't, and there was a pan with some fat in it which caught alight.

"It spread to the cooker, blackening the walls and ceiling. It did not spread to anything else but it wouldn't have taken long."

The homeowner was alerted by a smoke alarm and tried to put out the blaze with wet tea towels, which also caught alight.

Mr Simpson added: "Our advice nowadays is to shut the door, get out and call the fire brigade.

"We would like to ask people to stay vigilant when they cook as the kitchen is the room where most household fires start."

Crews from Strood and Medway fire stations attended and put out the blaze.