A FAMILY'S dog was killed and their kitchen destroyed after a serious house fire in Gravesend last night (Sunday).

Two pumps from Thames-side and one from Dartford were called to the scene in Trafalgar Road just after 8pm.

Initially, four officers with breathing apparatus entered the building believing the family to be inside. They found the alsatian on the first floor.

Crew manager Nick Ralph said: "We think the dog had panicked and run upstairs."

The kitchen was completely destroyed in the fire and the whole of the ground floor was damaged by smoke.

The cause is thought to be an electrical fault in the kitchen.