Firefighters administered first aid to two people for shock after a fire in a Deal home on Boxing Day.

The blaze started in an airing cupboard, then spread to the first floor of the semi-detached property in Wilson Avenue, just after 3pm.

Deal firefighters attended the scene with two appliances, backed up by a third from Dover.

They used a main jet, a hose reel jet and a hydrant supply to tackle the fire, before clearing the smoke with a fan.

A family had been preparing a Boxing Day dinner and had put the smell of burning down to the cooking food. It was only when somebody checked upstairs and were met with thick smoke, they realised there was a house fire.

They left the property and called for assistance.

Watch manager Danny Yates said: “There is severe damage to the property. After we’d ventilated it, the occupants were able to retrieve any urgent belongings.

“Crews worked really hard to stop it spreading to the roof. The adjacent property did evacuate at our request. Other than a smell of smoke, the adjacent property remains undamaged.”

It‘s not known how the fire, which was put out by just after 4pm, started.