A mother and her child were able to escape their home after the dishwasher caught fire, thanks to their smoke alarm.

Firefighters were called to Rolvenden Road, Wainscott just before 2pm on Thursday.

The resident, who was at home at the time, was alerted to the blaze by her working smoke alarms.

She took her child to safety outside her home, phoned 999 and waited outside for firefighters to arrive.

Two fire engines were quickly on the scene and a team wearing breathing apparatus went into the smoke-filled house and discovered a dishwasher alight in the kitchen.

After extinguishing the fire, they used a fan to clear smoke from the house. The fire damaged approximately 20% of the kitchen. They left the property around 2.20pm.