Huge fire rips through warehouse with smoke seen for miles across south London

A huge fire has ripped through an industrial estate in London.

Twenty-five fire engines and around 150 firefighters spent hours fighting the blaze on Maypole Crescent in Erith overnight.

A warehouse in the scrap yard was alight, as well as three diggers and numerous vehicle.

The industrial estate itself is home to around 20 businesses, including garages, repair shops and recycling centres.

Fire billowed out and clouded the London skyline well into the morning as the fire was brought under control at 6.52am on Saturday.

Local residents were told to keep their windows and doors shut despite the heatwave because of the smoke being produced.

London Fire Brigade first received news of the blaze at 10.57pm last night and sent crews to the scene.

They employed two 32-metre high ladders to survey the fire as it burnt the industrial estate to a crisp.

A fire boat was also mobilised, which uses two remote-operated water monitors to pump out 2,500 litres of water per minute.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

It erupted as the London Fire Brigade issued a new warning about the risks of grass fires and wildfires during a heatwave.

London Fire Brigade Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jamie Jenkins said: ‘Whilst many people will be looking forward to spending time in the sunshine, we are also urging everyone to be responsible to prevent wildfires or tragedies around the water.

‘Despite the heavy rainfall earlier this week, the Natural Hazards Partnership has assessed that the risk of wildfires in London is currently severe.

‘As the weather has been so dry, it only takes a few sparks to lead to a fire spreading rapidly. In London, this is can be dangerous because so many of our green spaces lie close to homes and other properties.’

Jenkins told Londoners not to take disposable BBQs with them when going out as they are banned from many London parks, and reminded people to dispose of cigarettes responsibly.

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