Residents were evacuated from a Staplehurst pub after a fire started in the early hours of the morning.

Firefighters were called to The Kings Head in the High Street at 4.10am to reports that a tumble dryer was alight in a first floor kitchen.

Crews were there for around 45 minutes extinguishing the blaze, and then helped to clear the detached pub of smoke.

It was one of two call outs for resilience firefighters, who were on call during a 24-hour walkout by members of the Fire Brigade Union.

They were striking from 9am yesterday.

In the second emergency, firefighters were called to a power line which was arcing after being hit by a fallen tree.

They went to Carpenters Lane in Hadlow at 3.14am and waited until UK Power Networks arrived.