A THREE-year-old boy died in hospital following a blaze at a house in Rayners Lane, on Wednesday afternoon last week.

Police are appealing for witnesses and information about the fire which almost gutted the semi-detached house in Kings Road, home to Raman Pathak, 35, and his two sons.

Mr Pathak and his older son, who is ten, were rescued by firefighters and members of the public, including a van driver who smashed one of the windows before firefighters arrived. They were treated at Northwick Park Hospital for cuts and minor burns.

But the younger son, Vidur, who was carried from the burning house by firefighters, was confirmed dead at the hospital.

Wendy Masters, 42, said that she was in her kitchen at 5.20pm when her daughter, Natalie, 12, said she could see smoke coming from the Pathaks' house two doors away.

She said a van had pulled up outside the blazing building, and the driver had used a ladder to try to smash his way in.

"He couldn't smash the windows at first because they were double glazed," she said. "When I saw him put the ladder up there I immediately started crying.

"The little boy was in the bedroom and they couldn't get him out. When the firemen arrived they went in with breathing apparatus and carried someone out of the building.

"I felt quite helpless. It was frightening."

Raj Kakkad, 33, who lives opposite, said: "It's hard to explain how thick and black the smoke coming out of the house was. It was like a furnace: the whole place was ablaze. By the time the fire crew arrived, the whole of Kings Road was shrouded in smoke.

"It would have to be a very brave man to have gone in there. People were just standing, watching, and I was doing the same. I'm just devastated the three-year-old didn't make it."

Mr Pathak and his son are thought to be staying with relatives.

DCI Allan Aubeelack of Harrow CID said that the cause of the fire was unclear but he was treating it as an accident. No date for an inquest has been set.

 Anyone who can help the police should call 020 8733 3484.