Firefighters in Deal are reminding smokers to discard of their cigarettes properly this Regatta Week after an incident at a pub, last night.

Crews attended the Hole in the Roof in Queen Street at about 11pm to reports of a fire in a flower bed.

Crew manager Paul Copley said: “When we arrived we found a 2ft tall barrel, which they use as a planter, well alight.

“We extinguished it with water.”

He added: “We believe the fire was down to a poorly discarded cigarette.

"We’d ask people to carefully dispose of used smoking material at all times but be extra vigilant this week when there will be lots of people in the town enjoying the Regatta Week events.”

The advice is to put used cigarettes in ashtrays, preferably heavy ones which won’t tip over, or a wall mounted ashtray.

Earlier in the same evening, firefighters rescued two pigeons trapped in netting on the roof of Dogs Trust in Queen Street.

Both birds were handed over to the RSPCA.