A family from Chatham will have a badly fire-damaged kitchen this Christmas after their tumble dryer caught alight yesterday (Thursday).

Two crews were sent to a house in Sedge Crescent, Weeds Wood following a call from the family’s teenage son at around 5.15pm.

The homeowner had popped out and the son came across the fire when he arrived home from school.

Firefighters wore breathing apparatus to tackle the blaze and used a positive pressure ventilation fan to clear the house of smoke.

Medway watch manager Paul Nash said the incident highlighted important safety messages, including not starting your tumble dryer if you are going out and making sure the filters are changed regularly.

He said: “There was no working smoke alarm in their home and if the son had not come home and been alerted to the fire, the results could have been much worse.

“As it is, around 60 per cent of their kitchen has been fire-damaged and the rest of the floor has suffered from heat and smoke.

“Redecorating your home in the run up to Christmas is not a good prospect."