By Hayley Robinson

A man was taken to hospital with burns after he tried to dump his toaster down the toilet.

The 51-year-old escaped through a window and was balancing on the balcony of his first floor flat in Ceres Court, Eagles Close, Murston, before firefighters rescued him.

His toaster had caught fire so he picked it and walked through the flat to put it in the toilet. But there was hot plastic dripping off it which dropped on to a mattress in the hall, setting fire to that.

He was taken by ambulance to Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham for treatment to his arms and stomach. His injuries are not believed to be life threatening.

Firefighters spent 15 minutes tackling the blaze. Neighbours dialled 999 after hearing the smoke detector.

Sittingbourne watch manager Mark Innes said: "The hallway and bathroom were gutted and the remainder of the building was severely damaged by fire."

The property belonged to social housing landlord AmicusHorizon.

A spokesman said: "Our staff attended as soon as we were aware of the incident. They offered help and stayed until the property had been made safe.

"We provided temporary bed and breakfast accommodation for our resident over the weekend. He is now living in one of our homes until we’ve completed repairs caused by the fire."