A freak accident started a fire a home in Strood.

Firefighters were called out to a home in Drakes Avenue, on Thursday evening after an aerosol can split and leaked deodorant over clothes and a hairdryer in a bedroom

When a girl at the house decided to dry her hair, heat from her hairdryer ignited the deodorant into a ball of flame and set alight the clothes and her bedroom carpet.

A crew from Strood were called out to the home at about 6.45pm.

Watch manager, Pete Sanderson, said: “It was rather an unusual call, it’s not everyday a fire is started in this way.

“Some how the aerosol had split and its contents had leaked out and had covered the hairdryer and some of the girl’s clothes.

“When she put the hairdryer on, either a spark or heat ignited the substance and caused a fire.

“The girl and her brother were able to run out of the room and alert their father to the fire.

“He was then able to pick up the burning items and get them out of the house quickly.

“By the time we arrived the clothes were smouldering in the back garden and the carpet fire had been stamped out.

“There was some damage to the carpet but it was minimal.

“Although the children had alerted their father to the fire, this is a good example of why people need to have fire alarms in their homes.

“This family did have one and it worked as it should have done.”