SIX people had to be rehoused after a fire broke out above a doll shop.

One man suffered smoke inhalation in the blaze above the Maidstone Dolls House, in Upper Stone Street, which broke out at about 1.50am on Saturday.

By the time two fire crews had brought the fire under control, the homes above the shop were uninhabitable.

The man was taken to Maidstone Hospital as a precaution and police closed off the road while fire fighters tackled the blaze.

The cause of the fire, which did not damage the shop, is being investigated.