A smoker needed oxygen after he moved his burning mattress out of his home after it caught on fire.

The man, 47, who has not been named, was given medical assistance by firefighters who were called out to his home in St Michael’s Close, Chatham, on Sunday night .

The man told firefighters that he had accidentally set the mattress alight by dropping a cigarette.

A crew from Medway fire station were called out to his home at 11.30pm, and found the man had managed to get the mattress outside his flat.

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue Service said: “The man said he had dropped his cigarette and it had caught the mattress alight.

“With the help of a neighbour he had managed to get the mattress outside and although he didn't burn himself he did get overcome by smoke.

“We gave him oxygen for a while then called for an ambulance to make sure he was alright.

“Paramedics checked him out and he seemed fine so didn’t need to go to hospital and later able to go back in his flat after we had opened all the windows and got rid of the smoke.

“It’s never a good idea to move something which is on fire, our message is stay clear, get yourself out, stay out and dial 999.”