A fire in a car engine might have spread to the owner's house if a passer-by had not spotted smoke.

A lean-to in front of the property in St Margaret's Street, Rochester, was already damaged by the time firefighters from Strood arrived early on Wednesday.

They got to the scene at about 4.45am and prevented the fire from spreading further.

The cause is believed to be an electrical fault in the Peugeot car, which had been parked on the driveway.

Just hours earlier, firefighters had to rip off the front door of a cluttered household garage in Gerald Avenue, Chatham, to get to a blaze inside.

The contents of the garage was destroyed, but the fire was extinguished half-an-hour after crews were called at 1am on Wednesday morning.