A homeowner who smelled smoke coming from her kitchen tried to tackle the blaze with a garden hose while firefighters were on their way.

The woman in her late 20s was alone in the house in Darnley Road, Strood, with her pet alsatian when a suspected electrical fire broke out last night.

The home near the junction with Elaine Avenue had no smoke alarms and was badly smoke-damaged.

However, firefighters said the woman, who was upstairs in the house when the fire broke out, luckily escaped injury.

Police closed the road while crews attended at 6.45pm and isolated the electrics before using water to put out the fire, which destroyed about a fifth of the kitchen.

Martin Simmons, watch manager at Strood Fire Station, said: "We fitted smoke detectors in the house afterwards because there were none there.

"If it had been the middle of the night and she had been asleep it could have been a different outcome. We'd like to remind people how important it is to fit smoke detectors."

Firefighters also advise against homeowners trying to put out blazes themselves.