A mother was left distressed after her toddler was trapped in a smoke filled kitchen with burning food.

The pair managed to escape their flat in Gilders Road, Chessington, and the toddler was taken to Kingston Hospital to be checked over after the incident at about 10.45 this morning.

Surbiton fire fighter Paul Farden said it looked like the toddler had been left in the kitchen with cooking unattended and had managed to open the fridge, which blocked the kitchen door.

He said: “The child got caught in the kitchen. The mother was very distressed.

“It’s not a nice situation to be in with a two-year-old child.”

The mother and child managed to escape their smoke filled home by the time fire crews from New Malden and Surbiton arrived.

Fire fighter Farden said: “The cooker was smoking a little bit but there were not actual flames.

“I think the cooker was just, it could have done with a bit of a clean. It was probably just a bit of grease.”

He said the mother may have been alerted to the dangerous situation earlier if they had a smoke alarm fitted.