A four-year-old girl has helped prevent her family's home from burning down.

The youngster was woken by the smell of smoke early today - and saw flames coming out of an extractor fan in the bathroom.

She managed to alert her dad, who used towels to smother the flames before the family escaped the Dartford property.

They called 999 and fire crews from Dartford used a fan to clear smoke from the house.

The fire broke out at the Manor Way property just after midnight.

Firefighter Dave Read said: "Fortunately, this was a fairly minor incident, but the outcome could have been far more serious had the young child not woken when she did as there were no working smoke alarms in the property.

"I cannot stress enough the importance of having these small life-saving devices fitted on each floor of your home. They provide the vital early warning needed in the event of a fire."

He added: "If fire breaks out in your home, don't attempt to tackle it yourself, just get out, stay out and call the fire service."

The fan was destroyed, but the house suffered only slight smoke damage.

Crews fitted smoke alarms in the house and will be distributing safety advice leaflets to neighbouring homes.