Neighbours have spoken of their shock after a woman and a cat were killed in a bungalow blaze.

Floral tributes were left outside the property in Sharon Crescent, Walderslade near Chatham earlier today.

Four fire engines were sent to the scene at around 5.30pm yesterday (June 10) as crews tackled the incident which saw a woman and a cat die at the scene.

The fire service said the cause had been “linked to smoking materials”.

Earlier today neighbour Wendy Pooley was among those to lay flowers and pay tribute to the unnamed victim outside the bungalow.

She had been at home at the time but hadn’t been alerted until emergency services descended on the quiet street.

Wendy told KentOnline: “I was just sitting there watching the TV.

"I heard sirens but didn't take much notice as sometimes you get sirens around here.

"Then all of a sudden my door was thumping and the fire brigade was there.

"They knocked on my neighbour's next door and they had to climb over his fence to get into the back of the bungalow.

"Then you could see the smoke. We came out here. The police were here, there was a load of paramedics and then I realised that she wasn't out here.

"So I went over to the carers and said 'is she still in there' and they said ‘yes’ so that was really upsetting.”

The woman has been described as being elderly and with mobility issues.

Wendy explained how the alarm was only raised when the deceased’s carers came to turn her in for the night.

She added: "That was horrible then knowing that she was still in there.

"The carers came. Obviously they came to put her to bed for the night and they couldn't get in.

"Then when they opened the door because of the smoke it was them that phoned the fire brigade. Apart from that, we wouldn't have known.

"It would have gone through, we would have all gone up.

"I was a bit frightened actually because I didn't see flames, there was a lot of smoke and they went in there with the breathing apparatus and they were sort of toing and froing.”

Since the fire, Wendy hasn’t been able to rest comfortably and has expressed her condolences to the family of the deceased, who it’s understood had not long moved into the property.

"All my thoughts and sympathy are with them,” Wendy said. It must be a horrendous thing."

"I'm thinking of them, I couldn't sleep last night. So today I have not done very much I just keep thinking of the poor woman.

"I should have got to know her a bit more. That's what you think of as well.

"She hadn't been here very long. We hadn't got to know her because she hadn't come out.

"It's horrendous. Absolutely horrendous. Makes me worry for my safety but at least I can walk about. It's such a shame.

‘All my thoughts and sympathy are with them. It must be a horrendous thing’

“I don't know if I could have done anything anyway but it goes through your mind. I think it is going to take a little while to get used to it."

Since the incident, MHS Homes, the landlord for properties in the street, has been out to check on the welfare of residents.

Wendy says fire service staff have also returned to check fire safety equipment and have installed new fire alarms in her home and others.

She praised them for their efforts, adding : "They were really good last night. It must have been horrendous for them.

“I have to say they were all very nice. We offered them tea and coffee and the use of the toilet."

A spokesperson for fire said: “Firefighting operations ended at 18:36pm but this doesn’t mean we leave the scene at that time as we often stay to carry out fire investigations.

“There were two fire engines there at the height of the incident, they were then replaced with relief vehicles.

“Crews visited nearby properties after the incident to provide reassurance and home fire safety visits, which is standard post-incident protocol after an incident of this nature.”

Police and ambulance crews also attended.

A spokesperson for ambulance said: “I can confirm that SECAmb was called to reports of a fire at a home. Despite the efforts of all those involved, one person sadly died at the scene.

“No other injuries were reported. our crews left the scene shortly after 7pm last night. Other emergency services may have been at the scene longer due to investigations.”

Police say the victim’s next of kin were informed and the death is not being treated as suspicious with a report prepared for the coroner.