A man in his 50s was treated for breathing in smoke after his ground-floor flat went up in flames.

The unnamed man was treated after the blaze tore through the former Plough Inn public house in Plough Road, Minster, on the Isle of Sheppey on Sunday.

Ambulance crews treated him at the scene before giving him the all-clear.

The cause of the fire, recorded at just after 3pm, is believed to be an electrical fault.

The blaze was spotted by Angela Armitage, 51, who lives in an adjoining ground-floor flat. Her black cat also had to be rescued by firefighters.

She said: "The smoke alarm went off so I knocked on the door but I couldn't see or smell anything. Then I put my ear to the door and heard crackling so I called the fire brigade.

"By the time the firemen arrived there was smoke coming out of the front window."

She said the owner of the flat, who she only knows as Phil, had been out at the time but returned to retrieve his mobile phone and then suffered smoke inhalation before being treated by paramedics. It is understood he went to stay with his daughter in Sittingbourne overnight.

Angela added: "The firemen were very good and were here very fast. They could see I was panicking and quickly put me at ease. I've never been in a situation like that before. It was very scary but they say I probably saved the whole building."

Another tenant upstairs was taken to safety by firefighters who had to break down his door to reach him. They also went into the building wearing breathing apparatus to rescue Angela's pet black cat Baby Girl.

Angela said: "They got me outside then went back to get Baby Girl who was hiding."

She said the flat which caught fire will have to be gutted because of the damage inside.

Three fire crews remained at the scene for around 40 minutes.

Read more: All the latest news from Sheppey.