A popular pub had to be evacuated at lunchtime after a blaze started in the kitchen.

Fire crews were called to The Poachers Pocket in Walderslade Road, Chatham, just before 2pm on Sunday.

When they arrived, staff had already got all the customers safely outside.

Two crews spent just over an hour at the scene. The fire was located in the cold store area of the building’s kitchen and later determined to have been caused by the cooling system overheating.

On arrival, the crews used a powered fan to push the smoke out of the building.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus then entered the pub, located the source of the fire using a thermal image camera and extinguished it.

Once the fire was out, they continued to use the powered fan to clear the building of smoke and ensured the scene was safe.

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue said: "Several people who were eating their lunch had to leave. The pub was shut for a couple of hours. I think it has re-opened but not serving food.

"The fire was contained to the storage area and there was no damage to the rest of the pub."

A spokesperson for Poachers Pocket said the pub was closed in the afternoon following a small fire in the kitchen, adding: " All staff and guests were safely evacuated and the fire brigade dealt with the fire quickly. The pub remained closed for the rest of the day. We reopened the pub and kitchen on Monday January 19 and we are now back to business as usual.”