A fire at a warehouse unit in Erith was caused by a hot ember falling into a pile of rubbish, according to London Fire Brigade.

The fire, which broke out on Manor Road, took more than two hours to bring under control as 35 firefighters from six crews battled it.

A forklift truck and a car are said to have been destroyed in the fire, and part of a van was also damaged.

Further damage was caused to a stack of tyres which went up in flames, and part of the unit itself was damaged in the blaze.

Crews from Erith, Bexley, Plumstead, Sidcup and other stations were called to battle the fire shortly after midnight. Luckily, no injuries were reported.

Watch manager Mark Edwards, who was at the scene, said: “There were two cylinders involved so crews worked to cool them to an ambient temperatures as they can explode when exposed to heat.

“Firefighters worked hard to stop the fire spreading and contained it to the yard so damage to the warehouse unit was minimal.”