A shop  and a flat have been destroyed following a fire last night.

Firefighters were called to the scene in Eastern Avenue, Newbury Park, at 10.30pm following reports of a shop underneath residential flats catching fire.

An aerial ladder, six fire engines and more than 35 firefighters from Woodford, Hainault, Romford and Barking were called to the incident.

The fire, which left both the shop and the flat gutted, took more than two and a half hours to get under control.

Firefighter Christina Cox, who attended the incident, said: “The derelict building was well alight when we arrived.

"Fire crews fought the fire on both sides of the  building after tearing off metal security shutters to gain access to the burning area.

"There was living accommodation on the first floor, but it was empty and no one was injured.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation.