A woman from Gillingham says she could have died after the washing machine in her girlfriend’s house ‘exploded’.

Jade Hillier was at Danielle Sutcliffe’s home in Scott Avenue, Rainham, when the blaze started.

She was waiting for Miss Sutcliffe’s 13- and 15-year-old children to return home from school.

The 26-year-old said: “It was terrifying. I was rushing around trying to get things done before the kids came home when smoke started coming out of the washing machine.

“The dial and the drawer fell out of it. I was trying to get to the fuse box and turn the electricity off.

“The fire was about five foot high. I was trying to get the animals out of the house and grab the phone to call the fire brigade.

”It exploded in the kitchen.”

The fire started to spread while Jade was desperately trying to save her two Staffordshire bull terriers from their cages in the kitchen.

Miss Hillier added: “One of them was too scared to come out. She’s pregnant and was terrified to leave her cage.

“I was choking outside when the kids got home.

“It took the fire brigade about 20 minutes to put it out but they stayed and let the housing association know what had happened.

“The fire was about five foot high. I was trying to get the animals out of the house and grab the phone to call the fire brigade" - Jade Hillier

“I asked them if there was anything I could have done to stop it and they said there was nothing, the plug socket was fine.

“The machine is about two years old. But even if it’s 22 years old it shouldn’t be blowing up.

“I’m still a bit shaken up, I could have died.”

A Beko spokesman said: “We are sorry to hear about the incident at Ms Hillier’s home. Once reported, an engineer was sent out urgently to inspect the machine but was unable to identify the cause.

“The machine will undergo forensic examination for further investigation. Before this takes place, we are unable to comment any further on the incident.

“We want to assure our customers that safety is central to everything we do. All Beko Plc. products are safety approved and meet or exceed all EU standards.”

The fire service has recorded the incident as a small fire in a washing machine, believed to be caused by an electrical fault.