A man who nearly lost his home to fire is backing a safer cooking campaign.

Shareman Pensado, 38, was surprised to find a note from Sittingbourne firefighters when he returned from a family shopping trip.

They had broken into his home in London Road, Sittingbourne, to put out a saucepan fire after his 13-year-old daughter Shantale had put eggs into a pan before they had left and not turned the stove off.

The pan had boiled dry and started to smoke.

A working smoke alarm alerted his neighbours who dialled 999. Luckily there was only smoke damage to the kitchen area.

The incident on March 5, is one of a number of cooking related fires tackled by Sittingbourne firefighters in recent weeks.

As a result Kent Fire and Rescue Service has launched a campaign urging homeowners to take greater care in the kitchen.

Married father-of-two Mr Pensado said: "If it had been later at night and people had been sleeping then it could have been much worse, we could have died. It shows how quickly and easily a fire can start.

"I was very mad. Shantale was grounded for two weeks and told not to go in the kitchen."

Watch Manager Neil Ryder said: "As Mr Pensado found, it takes a very short space of time for a pan to overheat and he was extremely lucky it didn’t turn into a major blaze or he could have been left homeless.

"Sadly, we often see people getting hurt as a result of these types of incidents which are all easily preventable with a bit of thought."

For advice visit www.kent.fire-uk.org