Firefighters have issued a smoke alarm warning after a blaze ripped through a basement in Leytonstone.

London Fire Brigade was called to Colworth Road just before 9.30pm on Sunday (December 3).

Part of a basement was destroyed in the blaze, which forced a man and a woman to flee the house before firefighters arrived.

It took six fire engines and around 40 firefighters an hour to extinguish the blaze.

The cause of the fire is believed to be due to a fault in a fridge freezer. 

LFB Sub Officer Nicholas Matthews, who was at the scene, has now said that the residents were spared injury due to a working fire alarm.

He said: "Crews wearing breathing apparatus entered the property and extinguished the fire.

“Thankfully the residents had a working smoke alarm which alerted them to the fire. As a result no injuries are reported.

“This incident is a reminder of just how important it is to have working smoke alarms in your property. Smoke alarms give the earliest possible warning when a fire starts.

“We encourage everyone to have smoke alarms fitted in every room where a fire could start, plus a heat alarm in the kitchen. It’s important to test them regularly.”

Crews from Leytonstone, Walthamstow, Woodford, Plaistow and Stoke Newington fire stations all attended the scene.