Eleven people have been rescued from a fire in a block of flats.

Firefighters broke into the building in South Street, Ponders End, and helped the group, which included five children, to safety.

A mother, along with a young child and a baby, was also trapped by the blaze and they were all saved from the blaze yesterday.

Brigade control duty manager Keith Diamond said: “Control officers were able to calm the lady down and provide vital fire survival guidance, including telling her to keep low and open a window.

"The control officer remained on the phone until firefighters wearing breathing apparatus reached the flat to rescue her and her two children and lead them to safety.

“Meanwhile control officers were speaking to other people in the flats and this allowed them to provide the initial fire crews arriving on the scene with rapid information on the location and number of people trapped inside the building so they could quickly identify where they were.”

A stairwell on the second floor of the block of four floors was completely destroyed by the blaze.

Five fire engines and around 31 firefighters from Enfield, Edmonton and Chingford attended the incident.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.