A man in his early 90s has died following a fire in a flat.

Firefighters carried the man out of the apartment building at Charing Hill, Charing, and then performed CPR on him but were unable to revive him.

He was pronounced dead at the scene and his next of kin have now been told of the tragedy.

Kent’s emergency services were called to the scene at 3:58pm yesterday.

The 12-home complex was safely evacuated of other residents.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service said that at this time it couldn't confirm any injuries.

A KFRS spokesman said: "Wearing breathing apparatus and using hose reel jets, firefighters worked hard to contain the fire to the open plan living space of the first floor flat, which suffered severe smoke and fire damage.

" The construction of the flats helped to keep the fire contained to the flat where the fire started.

" An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway."

Firefighters spent time with residents of the complex, giving safety advice and offering safety checks on their flats and giving reassurance following the fire.

Crews were at the scene until just before 5.30pm.