West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service are reminding people that 50% of all accidental fires are started by cooking.

It follows a kitchen fire in Horsham.

Firefighters using breathing apparatus and a hose reel dealt with the incident in a first floor flat in Marlborough Close.

The fire on an electric hob was believed to have been accidental.

WSFRS offer the following advice:

• don’t let yourself be distracted while cooking
• take pans off the heat if you get called away from the cooker by, for example, the phone or someone at the door
• don’t cook if you’re affected by alcohol or prescription drugs
• turn saucepans so that their handles don’t stick out and aren’t over another ring
• don’t put oven gloves or tea-towels down on to the hot cooker after you’ve used them
• clean your grill pan after using it
• take extra care when deep-fat frying or cooking with oil. Use a thermostat controlled deep-fat fryer which will make sure the fat doesn’t get too hot.

Further guidelines can be viewed on their website.