A hungry homeowner got a rude awakening today when he fell asleep while cooking his dinner.

Firefighters had to climb through the window of a house in Carpeaux Close, Chatham, when a man dozed off after putting sausages and chips in the oven.

A neighbour of the shift worker phoned 999 when they heard a fire alarm and smelt smoke at about 3.30am on Tuesday.

A Kent Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: "There was quite a bit of smoke inside the home.

"The homeowner was a bit shocked when one of the firefighters woke him up - he had no idea his fire alarm was going off and had slept through the whole thing.

"He had left his sausage and chips cooking in the oven and the chips were black by the time we got them out of the oven and turned it off.

"I would like to remind homeowners never to go to bed or fall asleep while cooking.

"If the home had not had a smoke alarm, the homeowner may not have been so lucky.

"It shows how important it is to have one as even if you don't hear it, someone else will."