POLICE are investigating a fire which left two men dead.

Neighbours raised the alarm when they saw thick black smoke billowing out of a terraced house in Woodlands Road, off Wood Street in Walthamstow, at around 11pm last night (Wednesday July 27).

Two men had been seen going into the house earlier that evening, and several neighbours frantically tried banging on the front door assuming they were asleep.

They got no response.

Fire crews arrived within minutes and recovered two bodies.

Ambulance staff desperately tried to revive the men on the pavement but they were pronounced dead at the scene.

Police estimate they were aged 21 and 60, although they are yet to be formally identified.

Their next of kin are yet to be informed.

The blaze was brought under control just after 12.30pm.

A post mortem to establish cause of death has yet to be arranged.

It is thought the fire may have started in the kitchen and is not suspicious, but investigators are not ruling out any options.

A joint probe by police and the London Fire Brigade has been launched and forensic teams were seen at the house this lunchtime.

Resident Marie O'Callaghan, 74, witnessed events unfold.

She said: "About 11pm I heard a male voice shouting, it sounded like he was saying 'no, no'. I went to my bedroom window to have a look and saw all this smoke and a crowd of people.

"I called 999 and the fire brigade were here straight away. I saw the fire-fighters bring out the body of a person and they tried to resuscitate him, but you could see they couldn't do anything to save him.

"It's a bit frightening and obviously very sad."

A 30-year-old woman who lives close to the victims' home and did not want to be named, said she was alerted to the blaze by the anguished cries of a neighbour.

She said: "He was shouting, screaming and banging on the door trying to wake them up.

"Really quickly a crowd of people gathered outside the front door and were banging too, trying to make as much noise as they could.

"Very soon the emergency services came - they did an amazing job.

"I saw them bring out the first body, but I wish I hadn't seen it. The fact that one of them was quite young makes it even more depressing. It was very shocking and upsetting."

Another neighbour, Leonard Sach, 50, said: "It's terrible. I lived here since the '60s and we've never had anything like this.

"Your thoughts go out to the people that died and their families."

It is thought the house is a rented property and the men were not well known to neighbours.

A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said four fire engines and around 20 fire-fighters attended the scene.

He said: "The fire damaged part of the ground floor, part of the first floor and a small part of the loft."

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