A sleeping man had a "lucky escape" after he was left fighting for breath when his electric blanket overheated filling his room with smoke.

Adrian Bevan, from Edenbridge, had warmed his bed with his late mum's old electric blanket on November 29 after getting back from holiday, but forgot to manually switch the blanket off after he put it on his floor.

As it was old, it didn’t have a timer or automatic shut off function like more modern products and then the smoke alarms in Adrian's flat failed as the acrid smoke spread into the air.

About an hour after he fell asleep at about 11pm, he woke up to the smoke filling his bedroom and his lungs.

The 61-year-old said: "I woke up coughing and absolutely struggling to breathe and my whole bedroom was filled with acrid smoke – I couldn't see anything and was totally confused about what was going on at the time.

"My eyes and throat were burning with toxic fumes, made even worse because I’m asthmatic – it really was very scary.

"Being near anyone smoking a cigarette or any kind of smoke from a bonfire I run a mile, and I immediately knew I needed to get out of that room quickly, it was a pretty terrifying experience.

"I crawled out and shut the door behind me – remembering that’s what the fire service says to do to contain smoke or fire."

Adrian, who now has a warning for others to test their smoke alarms, managed to get outside safely and called the fire service, which arrived within minutes.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the property to investigate, and provided Adrian with oxygen.

He was then looked after by paramedics and had further checks and treatment.

He continued: "If I hadn't got out then, I think I would have eventually succumbed to the smoke and the fire so I was very very fortunate to be able to get out of there.

"This was all a simple mistake, I forgot to turn the electric blanket off, and I am very lucky to have woken up when I did.

"Both my smoke alarms failed and it was clear that if they had been working I'd have been out of there very quickly and could have contained things very easily, so my big advice to anyone is to check your smoke alarms every week.

"From now on I will never use an electric blanket again, for me I think extra covers on the bed, also maybe a hot water bottle.

"Whatever you do, don't use an electric blanket with a hot water bottle at the same time because people have been electrocuted by the water getting into contact with the electric blanket."

Fire service crew manager, Mark Moore, said: “We’re thankful Adrian is okay.

"He absolutely had a lucky escape - just a few more minutes in that room could have resulted in a very different outcome.

"Had his smoke alarms been working, it’s likely he would have woken up much sooner and not suffered that level of smoke inhalation - a reminder to everyone to test their smoke alarms once a week.

"We know some people are thinking about alternative ways to stay warm and save money at the moment, so we expect more electric blankets may be used this winter.

"Therefore, we’re urging everyone to always save safely, and please follow our simple safety tips if planning to use an electric blanket."

Leanne McMahon, who is the area manager for customer and building safety for KFRS, said: "We know that with the cost of living people are finding innovative ways to try and save money. What we would encourage is that people do that as safely as they possibly can.

"Don't cut corners with your own safety, make sure that what you're using is safe, and that you can keep yourselves as warm in the winter as you possibly can."