A paraglider had a lucky escape after he collided with an overhead power cable as he tried to take off.

The man managed to free himself from the canopy, which was left tangled in the overhead cables in Church Road, Smeeth, near Ashford.

Small fires broke out after the incident but the paraglider did not suffer any injuries.

A Kent Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “On arrival crews found the male paraglider released and uninjured, although his canopy was still entangled resulting in small fires.

"Once the power cables had been isolated crews extinguished the fires and dampened down."

Firefighters were called to the scene at 3.09pm and were there until exactly 4.47pm.