A MAN who fancied some chips for a snack came to regret cooking them after his kitchen caught fire.

The home-owner, whose wife was out shopping, decided to fry himself some chips, but the fat in the chip pan overheated and set the kitchen alight.

The man, who tried to put the fire out himself, had to call in firefighters after the flames spread to other parts of the kitchen.

Crews from Strood and Medway were called out to the address in Baker Street, Rochester, at 2.50pm on Saturday, and had to use breathing apparatus to enter the home and put the fire out.

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue Service said: "Unfortunately, irresponsible motorists had parked cars inappropriately in the narrow street. It hindered our engines getting to the property.

"The fire was a serious one and resulted in severe fire damage to the kitchen. The rest of the house was smoked logged and had to be ventilated and probably wasn’t immediately habitable."