Two men suffered burns after a chip pan fire broke out in a flat last night.

The pair, aged about 25 and 30, had recently returned from work when they put the pan on the hob and left it unattended for a short while.

When they returned to the kitchen they found it was alight.

One of them poured water on it causing flames to erupt which caused burns to his arm and forehead.

The second man then attempted to move the pan from the kitchen, putting it in the shower tray and suffered burns to his forehead in the process.

A passer-by raised the alarm after seeing a flash which set light to the kitchen curtains.

A total of three fire engines were sent to the property in Sheerness High Street just before 11pm, the first arriving within six minutes of the 999 call.

No firefighting was needed but crews administered first aid and made the scene safe until a paramedic arrived.

They also used a thermal imaging camera to check the fire had not spread. The kitchen and bathroom were smoke damaged.

Sheppey crew manager, Jim Ashby said: “As we’ve seen from this incident, it only takes a few minutes for oil to overheat, causing the pan to ignite, with disastrous results.

“If you are unlucky enough to have a chip pan fire, never put water on to hot oil. It heats up, expands, turns to steam and rises in a big steam cloud. Each particle of steam is coated in burning oil and if you are near it you could be badly burned.

“My advice would be turn off the heat if it’s safe to do so – but never lean over the pan to reach the controls and most importantly, stand by your pan, don’t leave it unattended.”