Bromley firefighters have issued a warning after a family had to be rescued from a kitchen fire caused by tea towels left on their cooker. 

The announcement today (July 2) comes after a man, woman, and two teenagers had to be led to safety in the early hours of this morning while wearing breathing apparatus at a blaze in South Hill Road. 

Bromley watch manager Paul Smith said the family had tried to fight the fire themselves but had been driven back by flames and smoke. 

He said: “It looks like the fire was started after tea towels left on the cooking hob caught alight.

"It’s really important to make sure that kitchen surfaces and cookers are clear of tea towels, cloths, food and other items that can easily catch fire.

"Fortunately the family were alerted to the fire by the smoke alarms going off in their house.”

He added the public should never try to tackle serious incidents themselves and advised calling 999 and getting out as soon as possible. 

Two fire engines and around ten firefighters from Bromley Fire Station attended the incident. The brigade was called at 2.47am and the fire was under control within an hour.